TSET Board Awards More Than $5.5 Million to Organizations Across the State

The TSET Board of Directors awarded approximately $5.5 million over three years to seven organizations across Oklahoma to support health programs at their regular meeting on Nov. 17. 

The awards were part of a new funding initiative, TSET Discovery Grants, that supports emerging opportunities to partner with organizations to improve the health and lives of Oklahomans.

“Many organizations in Oklahoma are working to improve health and quality of life for the people of this state,” said Michelle Stephens, TSET Board of Directors chair. “TSET is proud to partner with these grantees and support effective, impactful programs that align with our mission to improve the health and wellness of our state.”

Projects awarded were:

The TSET Board also approved nearly $150,000 in TSET Healthy Incentive Grants to schools across the state. 

The TSET Healthy Incentive Grant program promotes strengthening policies to improve school nutrition, increase physical activity, improve student wellbeing, and provide tobacco-free environments for everyone.

The TSET Healthy Incentive Grants awarded Thursday were:

Click HERE for more information about TSET grants.

Study Shows Menthol Ban Leads to Substantial Reduction of Tobacco Use

A paper in Tobacco Control evaluating a Canadian ban on menthol-flavored tobacco showed it led to a reduction in smoking. The paper found that quit rates among menthol smokers (22.3%) were significantly higher than non-menthol smokers (15%) immediately after the ban. 

Menthol masks the harsh taste of tobacco, making it easier to start and harder to quit. Most smokers say they wish to quit. For menthol smokers, removing the flavor appears to help them take that step.

Canada was the first country to implement a national menthol ban. Today, states and municipalities across the U.S. are enacting their own bans, and the FDA is considering a federal ban of the highly addictive flavor. 

The nonprofit organization Action on Smoking and Health utilized data from the study to project the impact of a U.S. menthol ban and found it could lead more than 1.3 million Americans to quit smoking. Even if the ultimate number is smaller, the Canadian study indicates a U.S. ban on menthol could lead to a significant reduction in smoking rates, saving millions of lives and billions of dollars.

Oklahoma Scientist Receives Top Honor

Oklahoma scientist Dr. Judith James has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the field. The organization only admits 100 scientists per year. Dr. James is the fifth Oklahoma-based scientist, and first Oklahoma woman, elected to the academy in its 52-year history.  Dr. James works with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and the Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research, a TSET research grantee. She is best known for her work in prevention and early intervention for autoimmune diseases. Read more HERE.

Perspective: Julie Bisbee in the Journal Record Increasing Awareness, Screenings Lung cancer is treatable if found in early stages, but it is often diagnosed well after it has spread. Early detection and treatment reduces mortality by up to 20%. New guidelines released last spring define people as high risk for lung cancer if they have smoked a pack a day for 20 years or more, are age 50 or older, and still smoke or quit smoking in the past 15 years. A group of health agencies is working to improve awareness, access and availability of lung cancer screenings.

TSET Better Health Podcast: Surviving Cancer with Screenings and Tobacco Cessation

As few as 1.5 percent of eligible Oklahomans get life-saving lung cancer screenings.

In Episode 32 of the TSET Healthy Living Podcast, Dr. Mark Doescher from the Stephenson Cancer Center and Eric Finley of the Oklahoma Hospital Association discuss who qualifies for lung cancer screenings, reasons why rates are so low, the importance of getting tested and programs in place to increase screenings. 

"I think there need to be targeted efforts at the system level, both on the
primary care side and on the oncology side, to get people coordinated around
screening," said Dr. Doescher. "We need to remove all these access barriers to screening
by making it more available, particularly in low-income areas, rural areas,
where screening can be hard to get."

In addition, Dr. Lurdes Queimado of the TSET Health Promotion Research Center at OU discusses encouraging new research that show higher rates of remission of head and neck cancers among smokers who quit before starting treatment compared to those who continued smoking.

Available on TSET's website and everywhere podcasts are listened to: Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher, PodBean, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts.

Click HERE to listen.

TSET Honors DeLynn Fudge on Her Retirement

We want to take a moment to thank DeLynn Fudge, program officer for TSET statewide and research grants, as she embarks on her next big journey: retirement. DeLynn has had a long and successful career in helping improve the lives of all around her. Before coming to TSET, she was the executive director of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board for four years. Prior to that, she spent 10 years as the federal programs director at the District Attorney's Council, where she managed nine grant programs. Delynn was the first program coordinator for the Child Abuse Training & Coordination Council in the Office of Child Abuse Prevention. For ten years, she coordinated training for professionals on child abuse, neglect and domestic violence. While there, she received her Master of Education from the University of Oklahoma. DeLynn has been a tireless advocate for justice, children and health, and worked with steadfast determination and collaboration. We cannot thank DeLynn enough for her years of service and for her career built on a dedication to making life better for Oklahomans. Read about the rest of the TSET team HERE.