PACT Notes

January 26th, 2018

State of Tobacco Control – Did PA Make the Grade?

The American Lung Association released the results of its 16th annual State of Tobacco Control report. This report tracks progress on key tobacco control policies at the federal and state level, assigning grades based on whether laws are protecting citizens from tobacco-caused death and disease. This year’s report finds that while smoking rates are declining nationwide, progress is uneven and not all Americans are benefiting equally. The report identifies ways to protect everyone, including those historically targeted by the tobacco industry, from the harms of tobacco use and secondhand smoke. The purpose of the report is to increase knowledge about tobacco control policy and is not reflective of the life-saving tobacco prevention and cessation programs currently provided in the Commonwealth.

National Academies Report Makes Clear: FDA Must Use Its Full Authority to Protect the Public Health from E-Cigarettes

“The Academies’ thorough and comprehensive review of the science shows clear and convincing evidence that FDA must use its full oversight authority over e-cigarettes to protect the public health. The report makes clear: using e-cigarettes causes health risks, increases the chance that children and youth will start to use combustible tobacco products and exposes others to dangerous secondhand e-cigarette emissions. This is an addictive product that requires much closer scrutiny by the FDA.” – Harold P. Wimmer National President and CEO of the American Lung Association

To access the study directly click here.

State-Specific Prevalence of Tobacco Product Use Among Adults – United States, 2014-2015

Despite recent declines in cigarette smoking prevalence, the tobacco product landscape has shifted to include emerging tobacco products. Cigarettes were the most common currently used tobacco product in all states and DC. Among current cigarette smokers, the proportion who currently used one or more other tobacco products ranged from 11.5% to 32.3%. Differences in tobacco product use across states underscore the importance of implementing proven population-level strategies to reduce tobacco use and expanding these strategies to cover all forms of tobacco marketed in the United States. Such strategies could include comprehensive smoke-free policies, tobacco product price increases, anti-tobacco mass media campaigns, and barrier-free access to clinical smoking cessation resources.

To learn more about how this study is related to the State of Tobacco Control Report click here.

2018 Greater Philadelphia Lung Force Expo

The 2018 Greater Philadelphia LUNG FORCE Expo is coming up in Cherry Hill, NJ and you don’t want to miss this exciting one-day event for patients, caregivers and health professionals. Join us and learn important lung disease information, latest trends, resources and research surrounding lung cancer, COPD, asthma and other respiratory issues. Healthcare professional early-bird registration of $30 ends on Tuesday, Jan 30th! Registration includes breakfast, lunch, and CEUs for nurses, respiratory therapists, and certified health education specialists.

For registration click here.

New Online Ordering for Freedom From Smoking® Materials

There is a new online ordering for Freedom From Smoking Facilitator materials here in the Mid-Atlantic region. The link provided below can be used by all actively certified Freedom From Smoking Facilitators looking to purchase materials for upcoming classes. We ask that all orders now go through this system instead of being sent via email. This will allow us to better serve you!

Certified Freedom From Smoking® Facilitators click here to order materials.

PACT Notes

PACT Notes – December 21, 2018

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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

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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

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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.