August 2009 Archives

Oral Health America announced the winner of its National Spit Tobacco Education Program (NSTEP) annual slogan contest today, and encouraged young baseball and softball players to talk to their coaches and parents about tobacco addiction and the health risks of using tobacco products, including spit and smokeless tobacco.

This year's slogan contest winner is Katie Reynolds, a 12-year-old Little League Softball player with the Pawling Little League from Pawling, N.Y., whose submission, "Chew on this. . .tobacco steals your health," sends a clear message that tobacco has no place in the ballpark.

"In addition to being thrilled and proud of Katie's slogan, we are equally delighted that the contest provided an opportunity for our family to discuss the harms of tobacco," said Katie's parents, William and Gina Reynolds.

Katie's slogan will be featured on a pin designed by Oral Health America for distribution at the Little League Baseball World Series in South Williamsport, Pa., from Aug. 21-30. Katie will receive a monetary award, a trip to the event with her family, and an on-field award ceremony.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, about eight percent of high school students (and 13 percent of high school males) used smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days. The 2008 Monitoring the Future study from the University of Michigan found that over 80 percent of 8th and 10th graders disapprove of people using spit tobacco regularly.

Oral Health America's NSTEP works with Little League International to educate families about the risks of spit tobacco use, including oral cancer, gum disease, tooth decay, and nicotine addiction. During the 10-Day Little League Baseball World Series, Oral Health America provides tobacco and health education to tens of thousands of young baseball and softball players and their families.

Oral Health America is the nation's leading independent organization dedicated to eliminating oral disease through access, education and advocacy. To find out more, visit www.oralhealthamerica.org and http://www.nstep.org. Oral Health America's presence at the Little League Baseball World Series is made possible with support from Aspen Dental (www.aspendent.com) and Delta Dental of California (www.deltadentalins.com).

SOURCE Oral Health America

A new study from The Joint Commission projects that a majority of U.S. hospitals will have a smoke-free campus by the end of 2009. The study, "The Adoption of Smoke-Free Hospital Campuses in the United States," appears in the latest online issue of Tobacco Control, a British Medical Journal Group publication.

By February 2008, more than 45 percent of U.S. hospitals had adopted a smoke-free campus policy -- up from approximately three percent in 1992 when The Joint Commission first introduced standards requiring accredited hospitals to prohibit smoking within the hospital; an additional 15 percent of hospitals reported actively pursuing the adoption of a smoke-free campus policy. The study reveals that non-teaching and non-profit hospitals were more likely to have smoke-free campus policies, and private, non-profit hospitals were three times as likely as for-profits to have a smoke-free campus policy. There was little relationship, however, between the adoption of smoke-free campus policies and the rate at which hospitals provided smoking cessation counseling to their patients.

"From a public health perspective, the benefits of stricter anti-smoking policies are well established," says Scott Williams, Psy.D., associate director, Department of Health Services Research, The Joint Commission. "This study represents the first systematic evaluation of hospitals that have or have not adopted these policies." To download a podcast about the study, visit http://www.jointcommission.org/NewsRoom/Podcasts/smokefree_podcast.htm.

The study was conducted to determine the national prevalence of smoke-free hospital campus policies and the relationship between these policies and performance on nationally-standardized measures for smoking cessation counseling in U.S. hospitals. More than 1,900 Joint Commission-accredited hospitals responded to a survey assessing current smoking policies and future plans. Smoking cessation counseling rates were assessed through nationally-standardized measures. To date, little has been known about smoke-free policy prevalence and its impact. To view the study's abstract, visit http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/onlinefirst.dtl.

The research was supported through grants from the Substance Abuse Policy Research Program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute. It was conducted in partnership with researchers from the Henry Ford Health System's Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

Cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in America, accounting for more than 440,000 deaths each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cigarette smokers have a higher risk of developing fatty buildups in arteries, several types of cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Source: The Joint Commission

With the recent increase in the tobacco tax, many Floridians are faced with a tough decision in these already hard economic times - do they pay the extra dollar per pack or quit smoking for good. For those who want to quit, The Florida Quitline (1-877-U-CAN-NOW) is here to help by offering free nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) and counseling.

According to Kim Berfield, Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Health, when comparing the Florida Quitline call volume to other states, we are above the average. "Quitting is a daily struggle. The Quitline provides tobacco users with the tools they need for courage and self-empowerment," Berfield said.

Provided by the American Cancer Society and the Florida Department of Health, the Quitline is a toll-free, telephone-based tobacco cessation service. The Quitline provides the support and resources needed to kick the addiction such as free patches, gum and lozenges and free confidential telephone counseling which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Face-to-face counseling is also available through local AHEC (Area Health Education Centers). Many counties offer eight-week sessions for those who prefer group interaction. Counseling sessions taught by trained healthcare professionals double the chance of success, according to The Clinical Practice Guidelines for Tobacco Use and Dependence.

Quitting smoking is very difficult and it typically takes the average smoker approximately eight quit attempts to stop smoking for good. NRT, coupled with counseling, doubles the chances that a smoker will quit. From setting a quit date, determining trigger situations, and helping during a relapse, specially trained Quitline counselors help tobacco users develop a plan to finally rid themselves of tobacco and nicotine dependency.

For more information on the Quitline, please visit www.floridaquitline.com or by calling 1-877-U-CAN-NOW

ABOUT TOBACCO FREE FLORIDA

Tobacco Free Florida, the statewide youth prevention and adult cessation campaign launched in February 2008, has reached millions of Floridians through its advertising, online social media, grassroots initiatives, educational outreach and public relations efforts. Funded by the State's tobacco settlement fund, the campaign engages culturally and economically diverse audiences with its high impact messaging.

For more information on Tobacco Free Florida, please visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com.

Source: Tobacco Free Florida

The following is a statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

An Ohio judge today delivered an important victory for the state's children and health by ruling that Governor Ted Strickland and the Legislature acted illegally when they sought to take back $230 million in tobacco settlement funds they had placed in an endowment to fund programs to reduce tobacco use. Judge David Fais of the Franklin County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas issued a permanent injunction on the diversion of funds and ordered that they must be used as intended: to fund programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. We urge Gov. Strickland not to appeal this ruling and to support the use of these funds for tobacco prevention and cessation.

The Court rightly found that the seizure of the tobacco settlement funds and the reduction or elimination Ohio's highly successful tobacco prevention programs would cause profound harm to the health of the citizens of Ohio. As Judge Fais wrote in his ruling, "Depletion of the Endowment Fund, and discontinuance or reduction of the tobacco prevention and cessation programs funded by the Endowment Fund, would result in a substantial increase in tobacco-related premature death and disease in Ohio, and result in a substantial increase in medical expense for both Ohioans and the state of Ohio for treatment of tobacco-related disease."

We applaud the American Legacy Foundation for their leadership in pursuing this litigation to ensure these tobacco settlement funds are used as intended to prevent children from starting to smoke and help smokers quit.

At the time of the 1998 state tobacco settlement, Ohio leaders promised to use a portion of the approximately $300 million in settlement funds the state receives each year for programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. In 2000, they created the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation to receive this portion of the annual settlement funds and establish a permanent endowment to run tobacco prevention and cessation programs. However, Ohio leaders since regularly diverted funds intended for the Foundation. Then last year, Governor Strickland and the Legislature sough to raid the Foundation's remaining funds to help pay for an economic development plan.

The Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation has a strong record of success. The Foundation's programs have helped reduce smoking by 63.5 percent among middle school students and by 42 percent among high school students since 2000. Adult smoking in the state has declined as well, with 20.1 percent of Ohio adults reporting that they smoke, down from 26.3 percent in 2000.

It is critical that Ohio continue to invest in programs to prevent children from starting to smoke and help smokers quit. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Ohio. Each year in Ohio, tobacco use claims 18,500 lives and costs the state $4.37 billion in health care bills, including $1.4 billion in Medicaid payments alone. Government expenditures related to tobacco amount to a hidden tax of $625 a year on every Ohio household.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

The following is a statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

The D.C. Council has taken an important step to protect the District's kids and taxpayers from the devastating toll of tobacco use by increasing the cigarette tax by 50 cents to $2.50 per pack - the seventh highest cigarette tax in the nation. We applaud the City Council for its unanimous support of this life-saving proposal, and we look forward to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty signing it into law.

At the same time, the Council missed an opportunity to renew funding for the highly successful DC Tobacco-Free Families tobacco prevention and cessation program. Without action, funding for this program will largely expire at the end of September. To enhance and sustain the benefits from the tax increase, D.C. leaders should act quickly to provide the needed funds.

Higher tobacco taxes are a win-win-win solution for the District of Columbia - a health win that will reduce tobacco use and save lives, a financial win that will raise revenue for critical programs, and a political win that polls show is popular with the voters. With the increase, the District of Columbia will join 11 states that have increased their cigarette taxes this year.

The evidence is clear that increasing the cigarette tax is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking, especially among kids. Studies show that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by 7 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent. The District of Columbia can expect the 50-cent cigarette tax increase to prevent more than 1,300 kids from smoking; spur 1,000 smokers to quit for good; save more than 600 residents from future smoking-caused deaths; produce $32.3 million in long-term health care savings; and raise about $3.6 million a year in new revenue.

With the District of Columbia increase, the average state cigarette tax will be $1.32 per pack. Rhode Island has the highest state cigarette tax at $3.46 per pack. Twelve states and the District of Columbia have cigarette tax rates of at least $2 per pack, and 27 states and D.C. have cigarette tax rates of at least $1 per pack.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the District of Columbia, claiming 720 lives each year and costing the District $243 million annually in health care bills, including $78 million in Medicaid payments alone. Government expenditures related to tobacco amount to a hidden tax of $602 each year on every District of Columbia household. While the District of Columbia has made some progress in reducing youth smoking, 10.6 percent of District of Columbia high school students still smoke and 400 more kids become regular smokers every year.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids