PACT Notes

October 20th, 2017

Temple Studying How to be a Tobacco-free Campus

Temple university is looking at becoming a tobacco-free campus. The College of Public Health created a task force over the summer to explore becoming a tobacco-free campus. Currently, the university has a liberal smoke-free policy that only bans smoking within 25 feet of a main entrance, exit or working window of a university building. The task force is now researching how to enforce a tobacco-free policy and if the campus should be 100 percent tobacco-free. Temple will be working with Thomas Jefferson University, which went completely tobacco-free in 2014, to learn how the university enforced its policy.

5 Insights About Areas with the Highest Smoking Rates in the U.S.

There are 12 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia) in the U.S that mimic the tobacco use of the most tobacco-dependent and less-developed countries in the world. The lack of income, infrastructure, health care resources, and tobacco control policies contribute to these states’ high rates of tobacco use. These 12 states have been dubbed the “Tobacco Nation.” During the webinar, Tobacco Disparities in the U.S. provided by the Truth Initiative, some insights about tobacco-related disparities were provided. These insights include: consider the context of race, class and place; rural tobacco use shows disturbing trends; communities can have a culture of tobacco use; tobacco industry influence in these states is a major obstacle; and we need to fight “tobacco fatigue.”

Click Here to view the Tobacco Disparities in the U.S. webinar.

Sen. Schumer Calls for Regulations on E-Cigarettes to Limit Teen Vaping

U.S. Senator Schumer (D-NY) says it is time to regulate e-cigarettes. While progress has been made in keeping cigarettes out of the hands of youth, the availability of e-cigarettes in a variety of flavors is negatively impacting that progress. Not all e-cigarettes look the same. In fact, there is an e-cigarette that looks like a flash drive called Juul. This product can be charged by plugging into a computer and comes in flavors like mango, creme brulee, and fruit medley. In the past year, one in five New York high school students have used e-cigarettes. “It is safe to say that e-cigarette companies are stepping over the line to market these products to kids, to get them hooked to smoking. And they’re hoping the federal government turns a blind eye. Unfortunately, that is what’s happening,” said Sen. Schumer.

Become a Freedom From Smoking® Facilitator

On November 16th, the American Lung Association in PA will be holding a Freedom From Smoking® Facilitator training in Camp Hill from 9 am – 4 pm. Trained and certified facilitators conduct group clinics assisting individuals through a step-by-step process in quitting tobacco use. All facilitators trained are required to be tobacco-free for 12 months or longer. By participating in the training, you will learn the following: how to conduct sessions and activities, what challenges might arise, and how to handle those challenges.

Click Here to register today!

Pennsylvania’s TRU September 2017 Report

The Tobacco Resistance Unit (TRU) is a movement throughout all of Pennsylvania to help youth, ages 12 to 18, stay tobacco- and nicotine- free. Every month, TRU provides an update on TRU groups in regions throughout Pennsylvania, the number of TRU members, the number of TRU mentors, and TRU news.

Click Here to learn more about TRU.

PACT Notes

PACT Notes – December 21, 2018

by Erica Saylor | Dec 21, 2018 | PACT Notes

A new study found that increases in adolescent vaping from 2017 to 2018 were the largest ever recorded in the past 43 years for any adolescent substance use outcome in the U.S.

In just one year e-cigarette use among youth has skyrocketed, increasing by:
90% among 12th graders
96% among 10th graders
74% among 8th graders

PACT Notes – December 14, 2018

by Erica Saylor | Dec 14, 2018 | PACT Notes

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the landmark 1998 legal settlement between the states and the tobacco companies, which required the companies to pay more than $200 billion over time as compensation for tobacco-related health care costs.

The report challenges states to do more to fight tobacco use – the nation’s No. 1 preventable cause of death – and to confront the growing epidemic of youth e-cigarette use in America. In Pennsylvania, 8.7 percent of high school students smoke cigarettes, while 11.3 percent use e-cigarettes. Tobacco use claims 22,000 Pennsylvania lives and costs the state $6.3 billion in health care bills annually.

PACT Notes – December 7, 2018

by Erica Saylor | Dec 7, 2018 | PACT Notes

This week Senator Mario Scavello (PA-40) released a co-sponsorship memo for Tobacco 21. He is actively looking for support in the Senate and plans to introduce legislation in the session starting in the new year. While PACT is still advising that advocates wait until the new year to start their legislative visits, if you have any connections with Senators you think might be interested in support please reach out to PACT and we are happy to connect them with Senator Scavello’s Office.

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