|
Tobacco Control Program Newsletter |
|
|
VDH Tobacco Control Program Team at the annual Y Street Leadership Team Networking Event.
Last month, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) hosted the Y Street Leadership Team Networking Event in Richmond. VFHY focuses on reducing and preventing youth tobacco and nicotine use, substance use, and childhood obesity. Most of the TCP team attended the event. We had the opportunity to talk with various Y Street members from across the state, including Quinn, who was featured in a past Tobacco Free Tuesday talking about the Share the Air Campaign. It was great to meet local youth and hear about what they've learned and their experience from the leadership summit.
You might have noticed a new face in the picture above. We welcome Mark Boldt to the TCP Team! Mark joined in July as the new Program Manager. You will get to learn more about him next month in our "Meet the Virginia TCP Team" section.
We are continuing to fill our team and are currently hiring for the Northern Regional Coordinator. The application closes on August 18th. Please send it to anyone you think would be a great addition to our team!
|
|
Meet the Virginia Tobacco Control Program Team
👋 Hello and happy summer! I am Sarah Birckhead, the TCP Regional Coordinator covering Central Virginia. My favorite part of this job is getting to know my community partners (shout out to my passionate and dedicated tobacco control partners!) and finding common goals to support healthy communities. Originally from Maryland, I live in Chesterfield County with my husband, son and dog. I am happiest at a sunrise on the Outer Banks, hiking in the mountains, playing games with my family or cooking with vegetables from my mini garden.
|
|
|
Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training - Scholarship Opportunity
Tobacco companies have targeted African Americans and strategically marketed their products to appeal to the community for decades, including placing more advertising in predominantly black neighborhoods and in publications that are popular with black audiences. The most striking example is menthol cigarettes, which are easier to smoke and harder to quit. Today, nearly 90% of all African American smokers use menthol cigarettes, and more than 39,000 African Americans die from tobacco-related cancers each year. Evidence from tobacco industry documents shows that tobacco companies have a long history of specifically targeting African Americans with menthol cigarette advertising, promotions and making large financial contributions to African American groups and political leaders. On June 5th, the U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a resolution that supports prohibiting all flavored tobacco products. Hear from mayors across America support eliminating menthol cigarettes. For more information about this topic, visit: Truth Initiative and Public Health Law Center.
The Tobacco Control Program and Quit Now Virginia applauds and extends KUDOs to the twenty-two (22) new Tobacco Treatment Specialists who recently completed the Tobacco Treatment Specialist training offered by the Duke-UNC Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training Program. Our communities are now better equipped to offer cessation services to individuals who want to quit tobacco/nicotine with support much closer to home.
|
|
Data Highlight
 As Virginia’s elementary, middle, and high school students look to return to the classroom later this month, we thought it might be a good time to review the Department of Educations (DOE) publicly available School Climate Reports. Virginia’s public schools are required to report on a variety of topics that include tobacco related offenses. In the map above you can see the distribution of tobacco related offenses that have occurred across the Commonwealth between 2017 and 2020. It’s important to note the variation in how each respective school interprets, emphasizes, and therefore, reports tobacco related offenses, which in turn, impacts final counts. For more detailed information regarding tobacco and other school related offenses, please visit the DOE’s website.
|
|
Tobacco Control in the News
-
Have you seen corrective statements? Starting last month, signs telling the public the truth about the deadly consequences of cigarette smoking were posted in over 200,000 retail stores.
-
Data tells a story. Check out The ANR Foundation's smokefree lists and maps of U.S. here.
- FDA may approve a new medication to help with cessation - Cytisinicline
-
FDA Launches Online Vaping Prevention and Education Resource Center. The Vaping Prevention and Education Resource Center provides free science-based, standards-mapped materials that teachers can use to help their students understand the dangers associated with vaping and nicotine addiction. CTP also developed free materials for parents and teens.
-
Teachers will find lesson plans, interactive tools, infographics, and videos with tobacco facts and tips about how to teach teens about the dangers of vaping.
-
Parents will find fact sheets, videos, and resources to help them understand and recognize vapes, talk with their children, and keep the conversation going over time.
-
Students will find real-life stories and relatable content to help them understand vaping, nicotine addiction, common myths about vapes, and how to say no to vaping.
-
New! CDC Tips From Former Smokers® 2023 Fifth Flight Creative Rotation Began July 23
The fifth flight creative rotation began July 23 and will run until August 20. The creative rotation for this flight features:
-
From the Lungs to the Heart: How Tobacco-related Diseases and Cancers Affect Men’s Health. SelfMade Health Network recently released a new fact sheet outlining tobacco-related diseases and cancer rates in men including those related to commercial tobacco use. This new fact sheet along with other SelfMade Health Network (SMHN) fact sheets can be downloaded at any time from their website at: https://selfmadehealth.org/educate/determinants-of-health-fact-sheets/
-
The Truth Initiative Tobacco/Vape-Free College Program is offering grants of up to $20,000 to colleges and universities to support the adoption and implementation of a 100% tobacco/vape-free policy. For more information, including the grant guidelines, link to the online application, and informational webinar registration, please visit: https://truthinitiative.org/tobacco-vape-free-college-program. Please direct questions to Vera Kuma at vkuma@truthinitiative.org. The deadline to apply is October 12, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. ET
Please share with your partners!
|
|
|
Free help to quit tobacco.
Quit Coaches available for support.
|
|
Online education for parents.
A texting program for teens.
|
|
- Becoming a Tobacco Free Worksite,
- Referring your patients and clients proactively to the Quit Now Virginia,
- Finding your local tobacco and nicotine coalition, or
- Scheduling a tobacco and nicotine related training for your staff or community.
|
|
|
VDH Tobacco Control Program Newsletter
August 2023
   
Manage Preferences | Unsubscribe | Subscriber Help
Did someone forward this newsletter to you?
To receive future newsletters in your inbox or ask questions, email
TobaccoControl@vdh.virginia.gov
|
|
|
|
|
