Nicotine Free Northwest PA and the Erie County Department of Health have teamed up with the Erie Otters, local universities, and Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy to promote the Great American Smokeout Day. The Great American Smokeout is a day that we hope to encourage people to quit smoking and vaping for one day in hopes that it will help them quit for a lifetime.
All of the events will raise awareness in the community about the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use which is led by the Erie County Department of Health and Nicotine Free Northwest PA, a multi-organizational effort to address tobacco use in 13 counties of the Northwest Pennsylvania health district.
The Otters will air an anti-vaping/anti-tobacco video on the scoreboard during home games for the 2022-2023 season, and they will also host the TRU (Tobacco Resistance Unit) groups (state-wide anti-tobacco group ages 12-18) at an upcoming Otters game to promote the dangerous health effects of tobacco and vaping.
There will be a table set up at the entrance of the arena to allow people to sign pledges to be smoke free and vape free, and enter in a raffle to win a gift card. In addition, the youth are invited to join a Great American Smokeout Video Contest that was sent out to all Erie County Middle and High Schools. The videos in this contest will be voted on and the winning video will be played during the Otters game on Dec 9th.
Gannon University, Penn State Behrend, and Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy will also have tables set up on their campuses for the Great American Smokeout on November 17th. There will be info on how to quit smoking and vaping, as well as pledges to quit at the tables.
For more information about the Great American Smokeout Day, or to learn about FREE quitting resources available to you contact Erie County Department of Health at 814-451-6705 for services or the PA FREE Quitline or please call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-7848-669) or go to pa.quitlogix.org.
