For media inquiries, contact: Danielle Naylor, Aviation Mall, 518-793-8818, [email protected] Matthew Andrus, SATFC, 518-581-1230 (w), 518-881-6486 (c), [email protected] Angela Pause Smith, American Cancer Society, 518-454-4039,518-339-6339,[email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 20, 2012
Aviation Mall To Go Tobacco-Free
All Pyramid Mall Properties Become Tobacco-Free on May 31st
(Queensbury, NY) – Officials at Pyramid Management Group, LLC, owner and operator of 15 shopping malls throughout New York State and Massachusetts today announced that all of their properties will be 100 percent tobacco-free on May 31, 2012. This new policy includes Aviation Mall. Pyramid has been working with regional tobacco control partnerships funded by the NYS Tobacco Control Program and the American Cancer Society on implementation of the new policy.
“We strongly believe this new policy will not only support our employees and guests who are sensitive to secondhand smoke or are trying to quit smoking, but it also will provide a more enjoyable and healthier shopping experience to the millions of visitors who come through our doors each year,” said James L. Soos, Director of Asset Management, Pyramid Management Group.
The tobacco-free policy includes any and all tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco) and any other similar substances or instruments that are lit or burning such as electronic cigarettes. This tobacco-free policy is inclusive of entire properties, both inside and outside, including all entry points, hallways, sidewalks, loading dock areas, parking lots and construction areas. It applies to all mall associates, tenant employees, vendors, delivery people, contractors, subcontractors and guests.
“We congratulate Aviation Mall for launching a new healthy and safe environment free from the threat of secondhand smoke. Together with the communities of Glens Falls and Queensbury which have some of the strongest tobacco-free outdoor policies in the state, we are partnering to establish a region for families to work, play and now shop together without the danger that tobacco poses especially for our most vulnerable,” said Matthew Andrus, Communications Coordinator for the Southern Adirondack Tobacco-Free Coalition.
In addition to Aviation Mall, other New York State malls covered by the new tobacco-free policy will include:
Carousel Center – Syracuse (became smoke-free in 2007, will be tobacco-free) Champlain Centre - Plattsburgh Crossgates Mall - Albany Galleria at Crystal Run - Middletown Palisades Center – West Nyack Poughkeepsie Galleria - Poughkeepsie Salmon Run Mall - Watertown Sangertown Square – New Hartford The Shops at Ithaca Mall - Ithaca Walden Galleria - Buffalo
Massachusetts malls include:
Berkshire Mall - Lanesborough Independence Mall - Kingston Hampshire Mall - Hadley Holyoke Mall at Ingleside - Holyoke
“This policy means shoppers and their kids won’t have to walk a gauntlet of harmful secondhand smoke just to enter a mall,” said Alvaro Carrascal, Senior Vice President of Cancer Control, American Cancer Society of NY & NJ. “Secondhand smoke is a known carcinogen with no safe level of exposure. Mall employees who smoke also will benefit from on-site resources that will help them quit.”
To raise awareness of the new policy, on Kick Butts Day (Wednesday, March 21 st ), members of Reality Check from Queensbury High School will be tabling at Aviation Mall from 2-5pm where they will be educating customers and youth alike on the ever present dangers of tobacco marketing found in retail stores and in the media.
Pyramid will be providing opportunities for mall employees to obtain smoking cessation information and counseling. Signage provided by the local tobacco control coalitions will be posted around mall property to alert employees and shoppers about the new policy.
The first mall in the Pyramid family to go smoke-free was the Carousel Center in Syracuse in 2007. Successful implementation at that facility led to the corporate-wide expansion of the policy. With implementation of the new policy, Carousel Center will become tobacco-free.
For more information about the new policy, go to pyramidmg.com.
For information on how to quit smoking, call the New York State Smokers’ Quitline at 1-866- NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487)
For cancer information anytime, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or log onto cancer.org. ### About Pyramid Management Group, LLC: Pyramid Management Group, LLC, headquartered in Syracuse, NY, is the largest privately owned shopping center owner and developer in the northeast. The portfolio consists of 17 properties in New York and Massachusetts. With over 40 years of continued innovation, their ongoing success can be attributed to the unique combination of geographically centered sites, tremendous highway visibility, and an unmatched mix of new and exciting retailers. Additional information regarding Pyramid can be found at www.pyramidmg.com .
About the Southern Adirondack Tobacco-Free Coalition The Southern Adirondack Tobacco-Free Coalition (SATFC) is a grassroots coalition of local agencies and individuals committed to creating a tobacco-free environment. SATFC has been serving the Adirondack region for ten years with resources for stopping smoking, media campaigns on the danger of secondhand smoke and initiatives in preventing tobacco use among youth. SATFC serves a three county region of the Adirondacks including Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties. SATFC is located in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Coalition is funded by the New York State Department of Health, Tobacco Control Program.
About the American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.