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Hyacynth Dixon, 15, of Dorchester, Mass., has been named the East Regional Youth Advocate of the Year by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for her leadership in the fight against tobacco. Hyacynth is being honored at a gala in the nation's capital tonight (May 6) along with a national winner, three other regional winners and a group winner.
Hyacynth takes seriously the role of educating others about Big Tobacco and its harmful practices. In 2008, she and fellow members of the group BOLD Teens Against Tobacco played an active role in getting Boston to become one of the first cities to ban tobacco sales in pharmacies. Hyacynth and other BOLD teens wrote letters to the editor, held protests in front of pharmacies and met with the Boston Public Health Commission numerous times, culminating in approval of Boston's new regulation. Hyacynth also called attention to the need for FDA regulation of tobacco products by organizing a warning label project designed to educate the community about what is in a cigarette. Hyacynth is currently working to improve enforcement of a Boston law that limits the amount of window advertising allowed in stores.
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Public buildings in Scott County will be smoke-free on June 1.
The Scott County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on April 21 to ban all tobacco products from county facilities, citing a savings of 3 percent in health insurance premiums and the desire to improve employees' health.
Officials said the county could see approximately $20,000 per year saved.
The federal tax on a pack of cigarettes has gone up to just over a dollar with the increase that went into effect today, and might be just the push smokers need to kick the habit. Independence Blue Cross offers members help in many ways to stop using tobacco products.
Quitting smoking not only saves money, it saves lives. . . .
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"Sadly, people choose to smoke or chew tobacco despite their awareness of the benefits of quitting -- breathing easier, suffering fewer serious illnesses, and living a longer life," said Dr. Esther Nash, senior medical director, Independence Blue Cross. "But successful attempts to quit are often inspired by a strong motivator, like a personal health scare. We're hoping the tax hike pushes more smokers to seek help quitting and we stand ready to help."
Independence Blue Cross helps members kick the habit through:
Mary Beth Chambers 785.291.8869
A television advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness to the dangers of secondhand smoke is reaching Kansans across the state, thanks to a partnership between the Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Tobacco Use Prevention Program and Jones Huyett Partners, and a $75,000 grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation.
"Quitting smoking is the single best lifestyle change a person can make to improve both their own health and the health of those around them," said Graham Bailey, chief operating officer of the BCBSKS Foundation. "However, if someone can't quit for themselves, they should take steps to assure that the people around them are not put at risk. As these two ads remind us, there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke."
Bailey explained that exposure to cigarette smoke at home and work increases many health risks for non-smoking adults and children. Children of smokers are at a significantly higher risk for developing asthma, pneumonia, ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome, meningitis and learning problems. . . .
Teens with TASK, the statewide youth movement against tobacco, came together from across the state to share ideas on what makes an effective ad, what people should know about secondhand smoke, how to encourage smokers to take smoking outside and how to encourage businesses to become smoke-free. Many of the teens who participated in the project appear in the commercials.
The Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition and the Tobacco Use Prevention Program helped facilitate the project while Jones Huyett Partners, a Topeka advertising agency, produced and placed the ads. The two ads can be viewed at www.bcbsks.com/foundation.
On the eve of today's Great American Smokeout, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee said all of its offices and other properties statewide would go tobacco-free.
The state's largest health insurer would become the latest medical industry employer with a policy that several Nashville-area hospitals credit with helping more employees quit smoking.
Starting Jan. 1, use of tobacco products by employees and tenants would be barred within or on the grounds of BlueCross properties in Chattanooga, Jackson, Johnson City, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville, the health insurer said.
The American Lung Association (ALA) of Nevada is pleased to announce that it has received a grant in the amount of $150,000 from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Grant funds will reduce youth tobacco use through the expansion and continuation of two of the ALA's effective youth prevention and cessation programs -- Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) and Not on Tobacco (N-O-T).
"It is vital that we reach out to preteens and teens before they start smoking. This is definitely the age group that is at the highest risk. Most people who smoke are smoking by the age of 14 and it is a serious addiction that is very difficult to beat. Tobacco use is a major cause of preventable deaths in the United States," said Allison Newlon Moser, executive director for the American Lung Association of Nevada.
The American Lung Association offers two copyrighted programs to Nevada youth. Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) focuses on educating youth early about the dangers of tobacco use. Through the Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) program, high school students use a peer-led model to teach elementary students to avoid tobacco. These interactive presentations focus on the effects of tobacco, peer pressure and tobacco advertising, and the positive aspects of being tobacco free. . . .
The second program to be funded by Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield's grant - Not on Tobacco or "NOT" -- helps teens who have already started smoking to quit through a state of the art cessation program designed specifically for teenagers.
How can you encourage more smokers to kick the habit?
Offer their doctors a cash bonus.
That's the conclusion of a new study from the University of Minnesota and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
As an experiment, Blue Cross offered to pay medical clinics for referring smokers to a stop-smoking hot line. Clinics could receive up to $100 per referral.
In less than a year, those clinics referred nearly three times as many smokers to the hot line as those that didn't get the bonuses (11 percent vs. 4 percent), according to a study released Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Between 2005 and 2006, the insurance company paid out nearly $100,000 in bonuses for nearly 1,500 referrals.
No one knows how many of those smokers actually quit. Only about a fourth of those referred actually enrolled in stop-smoking programs, and the study didn't track their success rates.
Research released today in the American Journal of Public Health found evidence that the tobacco industry has manipulated menthol levels and created new cigarette brands with the intention of gaining market share among young adults and adolescents. The article, Tobacco Industry Control of Menthol Cigarettes and Targeting of Adolescents and Young Adults, compiled data and tobacco industry documents that reveal the tobacco industry's intention to vary strengths of menthol flavors in cigarettes, appealing to young people. The research was conducted by the Division of Public Health Practice at the Harvard School of Public Health and funded in part by the American Legacy Foundation(R).
The state’s largest health insurer -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas -- is going smoke-free.
On July 1, the company, which employs 1,450 people in Topeka and 10 field offices, including one in Lawrence, will ban tobacco at its workplaces.
"Implementing a tobacco-free policy sends a strong message that we care about the health and safety of our employees,” said Graham Bailey, vice president of corporate communications and public relations. “We cannot be credible in promoting the importance of health and wellness to our employer groups and members if we are not first willing to tackle the big issues ourselves," Bailey said.
Jared McNally, a third grader at Anderson Elementary in Sand Springs, Okla., and Magethsi Soria, a fifth grader at Rancho Village Elementary in Oklahoma City, each will produce their own 30-second TV public service announcements (PSAs) about the dangers of tobacco use. McNally and Soria's drawings and narratives were chosen from more than 2,200 entries across the state in the Be Smart-Don't Start! tobacco storyboard contest for students, grades kindergarten through fifth. McNally and Soria, eastern and central/western Oklahoma grand prize winners respectively, will have their PSAs shown on television throughout the summer to teach their peers why they shouldn't smoke. The PSAs will feature animated versions of the children's artwork and their own voices reading their narratives. Winning entries can be viewed online at http://www.bcbsok.com.
The program is co-sponsored by the American Lung Association of Central States Serving Oklahoma, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Cox Communications, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Ten years ago this week, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota became the first private insurance company to score a legal victory against the tobacco industry.
Blue Cross will mark that anniversary by hosting a daylong Prevention Minnesota conference Thursday at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest in Minnetonka.
Ten years ago this week, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) became the first private insurance company to score a legal victory against the tobacco industry. On May 8, 1998, Blue Cross and the State of Minnesota agreed to settlement terms with the tobacco industry, ending a four-month trial that had national and even international implications. The benefits of this settlement are clear today, as Minnesota enjoys a lower smoking rate than the national average.
The historic lawsuit and trial received worldwide attention for exposing the tobacco industry's long history of deceptive marketing, advertising and research, ultimately forcing the industry to change its business practices. In addition to Blue Cross' monetary award of $469 million and the State's award of $6.1 billion, the settlement required tobacco companies to stop a number of practices in Minnesota. The restrictions, which were quickly adopted by 46 other states . . . Others have said our decision to sue the industry was the greatest act of corporate courage they had ever seen. Courageous or not, it was the right thing to do," said Dr. Mark Banks, CEO, Blue Cross. "The lawsuit paved the way for significant public health achievements and will continue to have a profound impact on the health of our members and all Minnesotans for years to come."
Ten years later, the victory over the tobacco industry is still giving back to Minnesotans. Blue Cross continues to commit its settlement money to create lasting change that improves health for all Minnesotans. In 2006, Blue Cross launched Prevention Minnesota, a long-term initiative to reduce heart disease and cancers by tackling their root causes -- tobacco use, secondhand smoke, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating. . . .
Blue Cross will mark the tobacco settlement anniversary by hosting a day-long Prevention Minnesota conference at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest in Minnetonka on May 8. For more information on Blue Cross' Prevention Minnesota initiative, visit http://www.bluecrossmn.com/preventionminnesota.
WHERE THE TOBACCO FUNDS ARE BEING SPENT
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota received $469 million in the settlement. This is the company's plan for spending it:
• $241 million for Prevention Minnesota, a program to reduce smoking, increase physical activity and promote healthy eating.
• $71 million goes back to plan members. . . .
ClearWay Minnesota was created by the settlement with a $202 million endowment and a 25-year lifespan. So far, it has spent the money this way:
• $31.6 million for education and outreach, including a statewide advertising campaign on ClearWay's cessation program and the dangers of secondhand smoke.
The state's largest health plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross), recorded that more of its members sought help to quit smoking in October, according to enrollment data reported by Blue Cross' telephone coaching quitline. Stop-smoking quitline enrollments increased from 368 in September 2007 to 525 in October 2007 -- nearly a 43 percent increase. This October's number represents a 28 percent increase from a year ago, when the program enrolled 410 members.
Empire BlueCross BlueShield today published its new State Health Index, a set of measures that incorporates public health data to identify and help address major health issues in New York. Empire has assembled a dedicated team to collaborate with health care providers, local and state officials, as well as community organizations, to better understand the reasons behind prevalent health deficiencies and to, more importantly, develop collaborative solutions aimed at improving overall health in the state. Developed from data collected by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the State Health Index ranks New York 27th in the nation based on a comprehensive assessment of 23 measures of health status. While addressing all 23 measures, Empire will initially focus on eight of these measures having the greatest impact on New York . . .
, New Yorkers rank 43rd in the heart disease death rate (deaths per 100,000 residents caused by coronary heart disease) and 23rd in the cigarette smoking rate (percentage of adults in the state who smoke cigarettes).