FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Salmon Run Mall to Go Tobacco-Free
All Pyramid Mall Properties Become Tobacco-Free on May 31st
(Watertown, NY) – Officials at Pyramid Management Group, LLC, owner and operator of 15 shopping malls throughout New York and Massachusetts today announced that all of their properties will be 100 percent tobacco-free on May 31, 2012. 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.
“The Carousel Center has been smoke free for almost 5 years now and thousands of visitors and their children have been protected from secondhand smoke,” said Sue Casanova, Project Coordinator, Bridges to Prevent Tobacco. “Pyramid is showing once again that they are leaders in the industry. We encourage other mall owners to implement a tobacco free property policy as well.”
New York State malls covered by the new tobacco-free policy will include:
Aviation Mall – Queensbury
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
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.”
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 NYS Tobacco Control Tobacco Control Partnerships
New York State Tobacco Control Community Partnerships work with local governments and decision makers, local businesses and employers (including tobacco retailers), community organizations, health care institutions and providers, and schools and community groups to address tobacco company advertising, sponsorship and promotion; implement effective tobacco-free policies in the outdoor environment; change public opinion about tobacco and tobacco use; and promote access to evidence-based cessation services. Community Partnerships engage local stakeholders and decision makers, educate community leaders and the public, and mobilize the community to strengthen tobacco-related policies to restrict the tobacco company presence in the community, reduce the use and availability of tobacco products in the community, and limit opportunities for exposure to secondhand smoke. Community Partnerships take a policy advocacy approach to creating communities that support and reinforce the tobacco-free norm and dismantling the community policies and practices that promote and support tobacco use.
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.