Kick Butts Advocacy Day 2013

Kick Butts Advocacy Day 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Mar. 20, 2013
at Vern Riffe Center, 19th Floor, Columbus, Ohio

 

Young people and their mentors are invited to join the American Lung Association to stand up and speak out against tobacco. Join us at the Statehouse to have fun and talk with legislators about the importance of funding tobacco prevention programs so that our state no longer ranks the worst in the country when it comes to helping kids avoid tobacco!

Our theme is "Don’t be a tobacco zombie," because when you’re addicted to tobacco you become a mindless slave to tobacco and the tobacco industry. Smokers are the real walking dead, and this day will be an opportunity for you to say you don’t want Ohio’s youth becoming mindless zombies to the tobacco industry.

 

Dress like a zombie … Or, if you’re not that great at makeup, we’ll have people available to do your makeup at the event. And that’s not all the fun, check out these other activities:  Free pizza party and snacks Prizes; Sign decorating Zombie costume contest; Press conference (you can be on TV!) Statehouse tour; Meetings with legislators Zombie march.

 

This event is made possible by a Kick Butts Day grant from the Campaign for Tobacco‐Free Kids.

To register, visit: www.ohiolung.org. Please sign up everyone in your group individually since we will need each individual’s home address to schedule legislative meetings.

For more information, contact Shelly Kiser, American Lung Association in Ohio, skiser@midlandlung.org, 614
‐279‐1700

Break Free Alliance Newsletter 2013 Mar.

Reprinted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com,

Remembering R. Scott Chavez

We're deeply saddened to announce the passing of friend and colleague R. Scott Chavez, PhD, MPA, CCHP-A, Vice President with the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. Scott passed away on March 7th, succumbing to cancer at age 63. A long time member of the Break Free Alliance Coordinating Council, Dr. Chavez was the first to recognize the need for addressing tobacco policy and cessation in correctional facilities. He worked with the Alliance on developing the first-ever tobacco cessation curriculum specifically designed for inmate populations. He was a great supporter of the tobacco control movement and cared deeply about correctional health care issues. He helped the Alliance grow as a national network during his time on our Coordinating Council, often leading strategic planning sessions and overseeing the work and direction of our committees and workgroups. We will miss you Scott…thank you for your leadership and vision.

The Chavez family requests that condolences be sent to the NCCHC office at 1145 W. Diversey Parkway, Chicago, IL 60614. Donations may be made to the Hepatobiliary Cancers Foundation.

Update on Promising Practices 2014

For those of you who have seen or heard earlier announcements about Promising Practices 2014, we’ve moved the dates over one day so that it will now be occurring on April 28-29, 2014. And a location has been set as well! Our next conference will take place in Washington, DC. We’ll keep you informed as more details are finalized.

Vital Signs: Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults Aged ≥18 Years with Mental Illness — United States, 2009–201

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently released a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on tobacco use and mental health. The report analyzed data from the 2009–2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), finding that adults with mental illness used tobacco at a rate of 36.1% as compared to 21.4% for adults without mental illness. The prevalence of tobacco use was higher (47.9%) for those living below the federal poverty level than for those at or above the federal poverty level (33.3%).

Key findings among current smokers with mental illness are:

·   The average number of cigarettes smoked in the last month was higher than for adults without mental illness.
·   Adults with mental illness quit at a lower rate (34.7%) than adults without mental illness (53.4%)

Given that people living with mental illness smoke more cigarettes per month and quit at a lower rate statistically, it is important to engage more mental health professionals in addressing the issue; implement systems change in mental health facilities to make treating to tobacco use part of the continuum of care; and help mental health and tobacco control programs collaborate on programming to ultimately reduce tobacco use among people living with mental illness.

 Click here for the Brief or the Full Report.

 Community Colleges Are Important Partners in Reducing Tobacco Use

Break Free Alliance is pleased to report that it has convened two meetings with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to discuss the problem of tobacco use among community college students and how community colleges can benefit from and become a part of the “Tobacco-Free College Campus” initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Approximately 1,132 public, independent and tribal colleges are a part of the AACC’s system. Forty-five percent of students are between the ages of 22-39. Single parents make up 13% of the student population, non-US citizens 6%, veterans 3% and students with disabilities 12%. Forty-two percent of students report that they are the first generation to attend college.

 Tobacco use is higher among the populations referenced above and community colleges can be strong partners on local and statewide tobacco coalitions and workgroups. Reach out and invite them to the table!

We’d like to highlight two community colleges in West Virginia who are taking on the issue of tobacco use on campus: West Virginia University at Parkersburg and West Virginia Northern Community College. By enacting tobacco non-use policies and providing cessation services and referrals for students, these colleges recognize the role they play in improving the health of their students, faculty and community. For more information about the tobacco prevention and cessation programs of these community colleges, please contact Break Free Alliance.

 Additionally, the AACC is forging ahead with revising and re-issuing their Position Statement on Tobacco Use. Congratulations to the AACC for recognizing tobacco use as an important issue to address. We look forward to continued partnership and collaboration!

 Family Dollar vs. 7-11

Despite community protest, Family Dollar is continuing with its plan to sell cigarettes in their stores.

 

Unfortunately, using cigarette sales as a source of revenue is catching on among other chain dollar stores as well. Dollar General is following in Family Dollar’s footsteps and is planning to begin cigarette sales in its stores. Most of their stores will be stocked with cigarettes by mid 2013.  Click here to read more.

The good news is that convenience stores such as 7-11 are taking a different approach. 7-11 is shifting its focus from cigarette sales to food sales after gross margins dropped from 20.8% to 14.6% from 2002 to 2011. They are realizing that cigarettes are not as lucrative a product as food items and are choosing to scale back. “Over the course of the next 10 to 20 years, we fully expect for cigarette sales to continue to decline,” writes spokesman Scott Drake. “We are planning for cigarettes to not be a part of our long-term business model.”  Read the whole story here.

CDC’s Tips from Former Smokers campaign

The CDC’s Tips from Former Smokers campaign has some excellent and readily-accessible resources in their download center. If you are a local health department working with organizations that serve low SES populations, consider offering to print some Tips posters that can be put up on their walls if your budget allows, or assist them in putting a button on their website.

The National Networks for Tobacco Control and Prevention Websit3

The National Networks website provides helpful information, resources and links regarding priority populations, as well as a vast inventory of promising tools and programs for working with members of our communities.  The website features current news, upcoming events, pictures, discussion feeds and more, so visitors can stay updated on the latest information and opportunities to connect.

Please visit www.tobaccopreventionnetworks.org to see how you can help advance parity and eliminate tobacco-related disparities.

Break Free Alliance and Social Media

Visit the Alliance's Facebook, Twitter and blog pages to keep up-to-date with future events, resources and advocacy initiatives.  To view these pages, click on the Facebook, Twitter and blog icons below.

Become a Partner!

If you’ve been waiting to share your expertise with us and contribute to our Network, now is your chance! We need your expertise. We’re looking for tobacco control advocates, policy experts, grassroots organizers, fundraisers, researchers, and others dedicated to ending the cycle of tobacco and poverty. Visit here to learn more about what being a Partner with Break Free Alliance means and how you can participate.

Upcoming Events

Association for Community Health Improvement's 10th National Community Health Conference 

March 12-14; St. Louis, Missouri

 

2013 National Health Care for the Homeless Conference & Policy Symposium 

March 14-16; Washington, D.C.

Health Disparities Research at the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, And Disability: A National Conference

April 25^th and 26^th; Washington, D.C.

 

Familias en Acción: Latino Health Equity Conference May 10; Portland, OR

 

Repository Highlights

The articles listed below are just a snapshot of what you can find in Break Free Alliance’s Repository. For additional articles relating to tobacco use among low SES populations, visit the Research section of the Repository.  Also, we’re looking to add more items to the Resources and Directory sections in our Repository: if you have expertise in and/or resources about low SES populations and tobacco control issues, let us know!
 

Project Exhale: Preliminary Evaluation of a Tailored Smoking Cessation Treatment for HIV-Positive African American Smokers

AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2013 Jan;27(1):22-32. 

Matthews AK, Conrad M, Kuhns L, Vargas M, King AC.

Understanding maternal smoking during pregnancy: Does residential context matter?             

Soc Sci Med. 2012 Dec 1. pii: S0277-9536(12)00785-X. [Epub ahead of print]

Shoff C, Yang TC.

 

Ongoing self-engagement in quit attempts and cessation outcomes among rural smokers who were unable to quit after 2 years of repeated interventions        

J Rural Health. 2013 Jan;29(1):106-12.

Azor Hui SK, Nazir N, Faseru B, Ellerbeck EF.

Tobacco Use During Military Deployment           

Nicotine Tob Res. 2013 Jan 8. [Epub ahead of print]
Talcott GW, Cigrang J, Sherrill-Mittleman D, Snyder DK, Baker M, et al.

Attitudes Toward Smoke-Free Workplaces, Restaurants, and Bars, Casinos, and Clubs Among U.S. Adults: Findings From the 2009–2010 National Adult Tobacco Survey               

Nicotine Tob Res. 2013 Jan 7. [Epub ahead of print]
King BA, Dube SR, Tynan MA.

Tobacco Position

Position Available Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Program,

Ohio Department of Health reposted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com,

Background:  ODH is funding a project specific position to do some integral work with Ohio Health Plans and Self-Insured Employers focused on determining the extent of tobacco cessation services offered in Ohio, on educating plans and employers about the requirements of the affordable care act (related to tobacco cessation) and on recruiting members to the Ohio Tobacco Collaborative.

Goal: The goals of the project are to:

·         determine what cessation services are available to Ohioans

·         educate Health Plans and Self-Insured Employers about the ACA requirements

·         use the leverage of the incentive of a quarter of free Quit Line use for members or warm transfer opportunity to recruit health plans to use the Ohio Quit Line

·          use the leverage provided to initiate a dialogue with health plans to explore new opportunities to increase utilization of effective tobacco cessation treatment for Ohioan

Reimbursement:  $22.60 per hour, no benefits (full-time, housed at ODH – 246 North High St.) for at least 12     months, position may be posted as a full-time position at later date

General Objectives:

1.       To the extent feasible, gather information about new and existing Ohio health plan benefit coverage related to tobacco cessation to be shared with ODH and the Ohio Quit Line.

2.       Meet with Health Plans and Employers to inform health plans of cost saving opportunities and educate as to requirements of ACA related to tobacco cessation.

3.       Work with ODH to create documented work flows for contracting, reporting etc. that meet the needs of ODH, NJH, and the individual health plans.

4.       Meet with health plans to review reports from NJH and discuss the value of the free warm transfer service.  Report results of these meetings back to ODH.

5.       Share input from meetings with ODH related to the Ohio Tobacco Collaborative, the Ohio Quit Line, and potential future collaboration.

Specific Tasks:

1.       Develop list of what health plans offer tobacco cessation benefits and what they offer and a list of health plans that do not currently have a contractual relationship with the Ohio Quit Line

2.       Identify contacts and maintain active contact and follow up with the health plans and self-insured employers. 

 

Additional Information

1.       ODH will provide all background briefing necessary.

2.       ODH will schedule regular meetings to assist with new/additional questions and brainstorm/make suggestions about approach.

For more information or to express interest, please contact:

Mandy Burkett, MA, RS

Chief, Tobacco and Indoor Environments Section

Bureau of Environmental Health

614-644-7553 or email at:  Mandy.Burkett@odh.ohio.gov