Wednesday, June 9, 2021 - 3:27 pm
CANTON Patricia Ruth Mustakangas, 71, passed away Friday, May 28, 2021, at Upstate University Hospital, Syracuse, NY after several years of debilitating health issues.
Patti was born March 17, 1950, in Fitchburg, MA, the daughter of Ellen (Newcombe) and George Mustakangas, both deceased. She was also preceded in death by her brother Harold Mustakangas and uncle Arthur Newcombe.
Patti was a graduate of Fitchburg High School, Fitchburg, MA, Class of 1968 and Colby College, Waterville, ME, Class of 1972.
In the mid-1970’s Pat moved with her former husband, Byron Whitney, to New York, where she remained in the Potsdam/Canton, NY area.
SYRACUSE, NY (WRVO) – Health officials have launched a statewide campaign called “It’s Not Just,” which highlights the way the tobacco industry aggressively targets African American communities.
Leslie Kohman, chief wellness officer at Upstate University Hospital, said tobacco companies have been pushing menthol cigarettes in African American communities since the 1930s. And they’re still doing it today.
BRYAN COSTIN / FLICKR
“They’re really shameless, just a few years ago, Altria contributed a million dollars to the Smithsonian Museum of African American History,” Kohman said. “I mean they are really targeted.”
And that campaign trickles all the way down to the corner stores in African American neighborhoods in central New York, according to Tobacco-Free CNY program coordinator Karyn Johnson.
Anthony S VanGuilder, 30, Massena | NorthCountryNow northcountrynow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from northcountrynow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.