Capital District Tobacco-Free Communities

06/08/2026

Last night, our Reality Check youth volunteers revisited the stands at the Tri-City Valley Cats game in Troy and asked fans: “Where do YOU see or smell flavored vapes?”

It turns out people still see or smell flavored vapes just about everywhere from parks to schools – in stores and on social media. One 5th grader mentioned she regularly sees other 5th graders using vapes at her school.

Nearly all flavored vapes including candy flavors are not authorized to be sold in New York – but they still regularly make their way into the hands of children due to retailer loopholes.

06/04/2026

We need to move forward not backward.

In May 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made decisions that will allow more flavored e-cigarettes and ni****ne pouches to be sold in the United States. This includes fruit flavors like mango and blueberry, which are popular with kids. The FDA authorized four flavored e-cigarettes fo...

05/29/2026

May 31 is World No To***co Day. At least 40 million adolescents currently use to***co, and 15 million are already using e-cigarettes globally! The to***co industry remains relentless and are aggressively marketing their products to youth. Let's not go backwards!
***coDay

05/22/2026

Students at Bethlehem Middle School had a great time spinning our trivia wheel yesterday and putting their knowledge to the test on how to***co negatively impacts the environment! One fact that really caught their attention: the to***co industry cuts down an astonishing 600 million trees every year. Can you believe it?

05/15/2026

This coming Sunday is - Visit nomentholsunday.org to learn more!

05/14/2026

Kudos to the Rensselaer County Sheriff's Office for tackling the issue of illegal flavored vapes in Rensselaer County. Our education efforts about the targeting of youth with flavored vapes are ongoing especially with new data out this week. The New York State Department of Health announced the release of this new data showing that approximately 1 in 5 students who have never smoked now report being "open" to the idea. This high level of openness to smoking is derived from the New York Youth To***co Survey, 2000-2024 and is the highest level on record since the state began collecting this data in 2000.🤯🤯🤯

05/07/2026

CBS News New York's Vanessa Murdock has reaction to the feds' decision to authorize fruit-flavored vapes.

05/07/2026

This past Saturday we had the opportunity to participate in the Riverkeeper Sweep. Over 700 lbs of material was removed from the Piscawen Kill in North Troy! Thanks to everyone who came out and helped clean our local tributary to the Hudson River. Items we found included bikes, printer, tarps, clothing, metal, and a couch!

05/01/2026

Did you catch us on the news last week on Earth Day? Well, you can watch it here and learn more about our collaboration with Albany High School photography students and how their art brings awareness to the environmental effects of to***co waste.

Over 13 percent of New York high school students reported using e-cigarettes in 2024, according to the Capital District To***co Free Communities (CDTFC).E-cigar

04/27/2026

Join Riverkeeper for the 15th annual Riverkeeper Sweep and give back to your local waterway. Be a part of 100+ projects around NYC and the Hudson Valley.
Click here to register.
https://engage.riverkeeper.org/component/events/event/23