Tobacco.org

Federal grant announced today to support tobacco-free initiatives in Linn County  

Tobacco prevention and cessation will be targeted with a $2 million grant that Linn County Public Health received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Ringgold County also received part of the total $3.2 million awarded through the

Communities Putting Prevention to Work federal stimulus program.

In Linn County, director Curtis Dickson said the grant will fund 15 public health positions to work on making school districts completely tobacco free and other initiatives.

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GOENS: No ifs, ands or butts about the dangers  

Two questions came to mind during the drive back to the office: Where did the two guys get the cigarettes since neither was old enough to purchase them, and with all that knowledge available, why would teens light the first cigarette? Is it the need to seem cool or are they giving in to peer pressure?

Whatever the reason, it seems a larger percentage of area students smoke today than in the past.

Thousands of Alabama kids are expected to participate in the nationwide Kick Butts Day on Wednesday. It's a program designed to fight tobacco use among teens.

Hopefully, some will hear the message and actually give in to positive peer pressure for a change.

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Statement From American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown On Publication Of FDA Rule Prohibiting Sales And Marketing Of Tobacco To Children 

Millions of children who begin a lifelong smoking habit will eventually die prematurely and put the health of their loved ones at risk. We're gratified that the regulation, which implements part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, will help children lead healthier lives and curb the tobacco industry's campaign to recruit young smokers.

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ARIF: Does increasing the price of cigarettes help reduce smoking? 

Another price hike on cigarettes... I hear smokers shrugging it off, as it has no affect to them. What's another 10 cents? . . .

In Brunei's case, the Tobacco Order 2005 was finally enforced in 2008. This noble measure is seen as one of steps towards a smoke-free and healthier nation. In 2009, a local newspaper article published a story entitled the following - 'Increasing the price of cigarettes would persuade smokers to kick the habit for good, which is more effective than the Tobacco Order 2005'.

However, a year has gone by and arguably the number of smokers in the country has not budged as smokers continue to light up. Recently, the Ministry of Health stated that lung cancer is now a major concern becoming the number one killer in the country. . . .

However, there remains the question of whether we have done enough. The setting up of the legal framework and the establishment of the 'quit smoking' clinic in Anggerek Desa (that only gives out tobacco patches) are certainly steps in the right direction. . . .

If we are serious in making a change, a friendlier approach should be explored, opportunities and options should be open to the public to ensure them that their wish to quit can be achieved. As for now, smokers will continue lighting up one of their 'little pleasures' after a hard day at work.

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Negotiators take aim at tobacco smuggling 

"We have not yet achieved an effective and workable protocol," said Laurent Huber, director of the Framework Convention Alliance, comprising more than 350 non-government organizations working on a global tobacco treaty. "We look forward to continuing to work with governments until they can agree to an effective tool to curb the illicit trade of tobacco products, a global curse that robs governments of uncollected tax revenues (and) promotes the consumption of tobacco products, which in turn leads to premature death and disease. Governments must and should come together to solve it."

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• Progress made on global tobacco smuggling pact 

GENEVA (Reuters) - Negotiators have made significant progress on a global pact to halt smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products in a week of talks, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.

But they did not discuss a proposal to ban sales of duty-free cigarettes, which activists say are frequently diverted into illicit trade that costs governments an estimated $40 billion in lost taxes.

Instead, negotiators from 168 countries did agree in closed meetings on the outline of a "tracking-and-tracing" system for tobacco products, the WHO and non-government organizations said.

Senior health officials will attempt to hammer out remaining differences when they meet in Uruguay in November to finalize the treaty, formally a protocol to the 2005 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

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Orange County gets $6.6 million anti-tobacco grant  

Efforts by health officials to reduce smoking among local residents got a major boost Friday with the announcement of a $6.6 million dollar federal grant.

The Orange County Health Department was awarded the grant - the department's largest ever - to help stop local residents from smoking or prevent them from ever lighting up.

U.S. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin was among those at a press conference Friday at the Orange County Health Department headquarters to announce the award. Orange County was one of three communities connected via satellite to Washington D.C. for the announcement of $372.8 million in grants. They will be awarded to 44 communities to prevent obesity and tobacco use while improving nutrition and increasing physical activity among their residents. . . .

The grant award is part of the Health and Human Services' Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative to combat chronic diseases and promote good health.

"The burden of chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, strokes and lung disease threatens to overwhelm our health care systems," said Sherin. "An estimated 81 Floridians die every day due to tobacco-related diseases. The answers in part lie in tobacco prevention programs such as those funded by this grant. Working together as a community we can save lives."

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Tobacco coalition wants to expand ban 

The number of adult smokers in Howard County is below the state average, according to recently released county health rankings done as part of a study by the University of Wisconsin.

The Howard County Tobacco Coalition said the report provides a great opportunity for the county to closely examine the role smoking plays in the health of the community.

The coalition wants to expand the current Kokomo ban to include all businesses and to extend it to the remainder of the county.

"We need to take more concrete steps to implement stronger smoking policies that will lower the county's smoking rate in cities and towns," the coalition said in a press release.

According to the study, Washington County has the highest percentage of adult smokers at an estimated 43 percent.

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$20,100 grant continues tobacco program  

A grant awarded by the Ohio Hospital Association will help support Selby General Hospital's Tobacco Prevention Program.

Funding for the program has been in flux since a 2008 bill abolished the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation as state officials sought to use money from Ohio's settlement with major tobacco companies for other purposes. A legal fight over the money has now reached the Ohio Supreme Court, which agreed last week to hear an appeal of a ruling by the state's 10th District Court of Appeals that said the state could use the money as it wanted.

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Communities Putting Prevention to Work Project Descriptions 

Under the Community Initiative, the communities receiving awards are diverse and highlights of these projects are grouped below by type of project:

* Communities Funded for Both Obesity and Tobacco

* Large Cities with Obesity Projects

* Large Cities with Tobacco Projects

* Urban Area Tobacco Projects

* Small Cities/Rural Areas Obesity Projects

* Small Cities/Rural Areas Tobacco Projects

* Obesity Projects by Tribes

* Tobacco Projects by Tribes

Communities Funded for Both Obesity and Tobacco

(1) Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts $12.5 Million (Obesity $6.4 Million, Tobacco $6.1 Million) . . .

The Commission's tobacco prevention effort will engage youth and community members in policy efforts to reduce youth tobacco use and exposure, including reducing exposure of youth and communities of color to tobacco industry marketing. A smoke-free homes initiative will result in 1,000 new units of smoke-free housing in Boston. Finally, the initiative will ensure the availability of multilingual smoking cessation services to Boston residents and build public awareness to utilize services. To ensure sustainability, the project will embed smoking cessation referral systems in electronic health records and provide training and technical assistance to health care professionals in accessing health insurance reimbursement for smoking cessation services.

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HHS Communities Putting Prevention to Work Initiative 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 states that “$650M shall be provided to carry out evidence-based clinical and community-based prevention and wellness strategies authorized by the Public Health Service Act that deliver specific, measurable health outcomes that address chronic disease rates.” The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed an initiative in response to the Act. The goal of the HHS initiative – Communities Putting Prevention to Work – is to reduce risk factors and prevent/delay chronic disease and promote wellness in both children and adults. The initiative was launched by HHS in a press briefing held on September 17, 2009.

Communities Putting Prevention to Work will expand the use of evidence-based strategies and programs, mobilize local resources at the community-level, and strengthen the capacity of states. The initiative has a strong emphasis on policy and environmental change at both the state and local levels and will:

1. Increase levels of physical activity; 2. Improve nutrition; 3. Decrease obesity rates; and 4. Decrease smoking prevalence, teen smoking initiation, and exposure to second-hand smoke.

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Communities Putting Prevention to Work Grant Information 

2. Tobacco Prevention Awards

$142.8 million

Select a State to see Grantee Communities:

Alabama

* Jefferson County Department of Health, Alabama

o $13.3 Million for obesity and tobacco prevention

+ $6.3 Million for obesity prevention

+ $7 Million for tobacco prevention . . .

California

* County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, California

o $32.1 Million for obesity and tobacco prevention

+ $15.9 Million for obesity prevention

+ $16.2 Million for tobacco prevention

* County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency, California

o $16.1 Million for obesity prevention

* County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, California

o $6.9 Million for tobacco prevention

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• HHS Awards $372 Million in Prevention and Wellness Grants to 44 Communities Around the Nation 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced awards of more than $372 million to 44 communities, to support public health efforts to reduce obesity and smoking, increase physical activity and improve nutrition.

The awards are part of the HHS Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative, a comprehensive prevention and wellness initiative funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

"This is an unprecedented level of commitment to prevention," said First Lady Michelle Obama. “Investing in local communities will build a healthier America, and we aim to reach more than 50 million people who are living in the communities receiving these awards.”

“We’re looking to create the healthy community environments that will help prevent heart attacks, strokes, cancer, diabetes, and other serious health problems on a broad scale,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “And, by preventing and controlling chronic disease, we can start to turn around rising health care costs as well,” she said.

CPPW awards to cities, towns, and tribes across the country will provide communities with the resources to create healthy choices for residents, such as increasing availability of healthy foods and beverages, improving access to safe places for physical activity, discouraging tobacco use, and encouraging smoke-free environments. . . .

Of the 44 communities receiving grants, 23 communities are receiving funding for obesity prevention; 14 communities for tobacco cessation; and seven others for both obesity and tobacco cessation efforts.

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JeffCo wins $13M grant to battle obesity, smoking  

The Jefferson County Department of Health has received two federal grants totaling more than $13.3 million to target tobacco use and obesity in the area.

Jefferson County was one of 44 areas in the nation selected to receive the "Communities Putting Prevention to Work" grants and one of only seven nationally to receive grants in both target areas.

First Lady Michelle Obama, along with Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the recipients Friday.

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City gets big money to trim waistlines, smoking  

Philadelphia snagged $25 million in federal stimulus grants announced nationwide yesterday and immediately launched an ambitious public-health campaign to cut obesity and smoking.

Philadelphia's rates of both are the highest among the 10 largest cities in the United States, Mayor Nutter said, calling the statistics "red flags for serious illnesses."

The grants - comprising nearly 7 percent of the $373 million handed out - will pay for initiatives that include completion of bicycle and walking paths, vouchers to the poor to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at half-price, and free nicotine-replacement therapy for 10,000 smokers.

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