Among the past few months, membership in the Youth Partnership has increased dramatically. The addition of The Copiague Youth Center has heightened everyone's enthusiasm. Meetings are held every other Tuesday at 5:30pm, and at each meeting, there is an entertaining tobacco related event, along with a discussion on how we can better inform members of the community about the dangers of tobacco use. Some of the noteworthy things we have done include: designed and created press folders, participated in the annual SADD and Compass Health and Wellness Fair, and started the creation of Public Service Announcements.

We are currently developing many other programs to reach out to the community, in addition to the mini-events that we do at each weekly meeting. Due to these efforts, the Village of Babylon was the first area in Suffolk County to receive 100% compliance in the tobacco sting operations conducted by the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County Department of Health. Since the percentage seemed loaded and abnormal; the sting was conducted again, making Babylon the first area in Suffolk County to receive 100% compliance twice in a row.

Some past Achievements of the Suffolk Youth Partnership for Health:

• Helped create a statewide youth tobacco survey with Columbia University to examine tobacco use.
  
  
• Was the first group in the nation to create and pilot a internet sting program to stop illegal sales of cigarettes via the internet.
  
  
• Created a Town wide Bike for Breath Program.
  
  
• Was the runner up of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Youth Advocates of the Year Award three years in a row.
  
  
• Was asked by the Clinton Administration to speak with President Clinton on current health topics.
  
  
• Spoke to the United Nations on the teen tobacco epidemic.
  
  
• NOYL program was started on "Kick Butts Day" to help stop the illegal sale of cigarettes to minors by local tobacco vendors.
  
  
• The Repeat Offenders program which is an alternative to suspending a school student who is caught smoking. The repeat offenders instead are rehabilitated.
  
  
• Probation Orientation is a program run through the county to stop minors who are on probation to be allowed to smoke. This program educates the minors on probation as well as their parents or guardians.
  
  
• A week of anti-smoking classes were given at Babylon Grade School.
  
  
• Compiled a listing of restaurants around the Town of Babylon that were smoke free. This compilation was the Town of Babylon Smoke-Free Restaurant Guide.
  
  
• Cessation classes were given in Amityville to aid people in quitting smoking.
  
  
• N. Babylon offers the "REASONS NOT TO SMOKE" program to teach kids the dangers of smoking.
  
  
• SYPH weekly meetings allow for kids to design and plan anti-smoking events that supervised by adults but carried out by the kids themselves.
  
  
• Informational areas were set up at local health and wellness fairs.
  
  
• Worked at the Heckscher State Park Youth Night.
  
  
• Ran an anti-smoking program at Summer Nights at Cedar Beach with games, performers and a visit from the Truth Tour.
  
  
• Arranged a trip to Riverhead Raceway to encourage that no one should smoke within the stadium.