Butt Out

While a new study reveals that students in Harlem have the lowest rate of smoking in city high schools, it appears that Harlem Congressman Charles Rangel has accepted more tobacco dollars than any other New York congressional delegate.

According to a Newsday article, between 1999 and 2006, Rangel took approximately $37,000 dollars in tobacco industry campaign contributions - the most tobacco dollars received by any New York congressman. This, as Harlem students lead the pack in saying “no” to smoking.

Statistics released by City Hall show that only 11% of students in city high schools last year reported smoking - 30,000 of them - down from 23% in 1997. The highest rates of high school smokers were in Staten Island, where 23% of teens light up, and Queens, where 13% of them do. The lowest rate - 6% - was here in Harlem.

Rangel, who quit smoking 50 years ago and lost his father and uncle to lung cancer, speaks candidly about his tobacco dollars.

"I don't support them, they support me,” Rangel said, citing his voting record that supports bills that ban smoking in public spaces.

An article in the NY Daily News points to the declining number of young smokers in Harlem as part of a national trend: 378 billion cigarettes were sold in the country last year - the lowest since 1951.