Did you know that 4 out of 5 kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored product? Big Tobacco knows that kids are more likely to be attracted to sweet flavors and young people can become hard-wired for addiction for life if they begin using nicotine in adolescence. This addiction can lead to lifelong health problems – even premature death. Big Tobacco needs customers in order to make a profit and they use tactics like adding flavoring to make nicotine more desirable for our kids.

Federal law prohibits selling cigarettes with fruit or candy flavors but other tobacco products like little cigars, smokeless, hookah and e-cigarettes are fair game. All of these are dangerous and talking to your kids about these dangers is incredibly important. Before you talk with them, know the facts, be patient and be ready to listen. Set a positive example by being tobacco free yourself. You can equip yourself to answer the tough questions your kids may ask you about e-cigarettes during the conversation by clicking here.

E-cigarettes or vapes often look harmless – they are even designed to look like common school supplies or candy. They are far from being harmless, however. They contain dangerous chemicals, and often contain highly addictive nicotine which makes it harder to concentrate, lowers impulses control, and leads to other dangerous addictions.

If you want to know more about Big Tobacco’s ploy to make tobacco products more desirable to kids, check out the Tobacco Stops With Me website for more information on the flavorings loophole.

Additionally, you can watch this video on how parents should familiarize themselves with e-cigarette and vaping products that are being marketed to youth here. 

The July 1 cigarette and little cigar price increase has encouraged Oklahomans to quit, and thousands are reaching out to the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline.

According to preliminary data, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline has seen an 85 percent increase in registrations in the first four weeks of July compared to data from July 2017. About 4,200 Oklahomans registered for free services between July 1 and July 28 compared to 2,300 registered callers during the same time period in July 2017.

While adult smoking in Oklahoma has declined by 24 percent over the past decade, roughly 19 percent of adults still smoke, compared to 17 percent nationally. The cigarette and little cigar price increase will encourage 18,700 adults to quit smoking, and discourage more than 17,000 Oklahoma kids from ever starting to use tobacco. Price increases and smokefree policies are a few of the most effective ways to reduce smoking, help smokers quit and stay quit.

Check out the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline’s cost calculator to find out how much tobacco use is costing you. Oklahomans can also learn more by visiting the Frequently Asked Questions page of the Helpline website.

A healthy body means a healthy mind. Whether they’re in the cafeteria at school or the kitchen at home, be sure your children fill half their plate with fruits and vegetables at every meal. For breakfast, try to make it a habit to add fruit to their meal – whether it’s in a smoothie, oatmeal or cereal. Incorporating vegetables into their lunch in a veggie wrap or as a side will help keep their energy up for the rest of the school day. You can let your kids help prepare a nutritious dinner as they’ll be more interested in eating something they were involved in preparing. Adding colorful vegetables to a pizza, lasagna or even rice dishes is a great way to jazz up dinner and finish the day on a healthy note!

Get some more healthy meal ideas by clicking here. 

The Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC), part of the Stephenson Cancer Center, has found an innovative way to assist smokers with quitting by using smartphones to understand the risk factors that lead individuals to smoke again. This information can then be used to develop solutions to help prevent relapse.

Michael Businelle, PhD, a researcher at the OTRC, and Matthew Koslovsky are using this information to show how smartphone apps and tailored messages can reduce relapses. This technology can transform how individuals quit tobacco and other unhealthy behaviors.

The OTRC research studies and continued program development are made possible through the support from TSET.

Learn more about how mobile technologies have the potential to advance the science related to smoking and radically transform how people quit tobacco here.