PACT Notes

February 16th, 2018

Registration is Now Open for Day at the Capitol 2018!

We are very happy to announce that registration is now open for this year’s Day at the Capitol!This year’s event will be held on May 1st, 2018, at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. The primary advocacy topics of focus will be to educate legislators on sustaining Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) dollars to support necessary tobacco cessation and prevention programs and services, as well as the importance of increasing the minimum legal age of sale for tobacco products to 21 to eliminate or reduce youth tobacco initiation.

Click here to register.

Reasons for Electronic Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students – National Youth Tobacco Survey, United States, 2016

CDC and the Food and Drug Administration analyzed data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey to assess self-reported reasons for e-cigarette use among middle- and high-school students. In 2016, among students who had ever used an e-cigarette, the most commonly selected reasons for use were: use by a friend or family member, availability of flavors such as mint, candy, fruit, or chocolate, belief that they are less harmful than other forms of tobacco such as cigarettes. Population-level strategies to reduce e-cigarette use among youth include incorporating e-cigarettes into smokefree indoor air policies, creating specific package requirements, licensing retailers, and restricting youth access to e-cigarettes in retail settings.

Housing Authority Adopts Smoke-Free Rule

The Altoona Housing Authority on Wednesday adopted a smoke-free policy for its public housing complexes and offices, in keeping with a Department of Housing and Urban Development rule that went into effect a year ago. Beginning July 30, no one may smoke anywhere indoors at those locations or outdoors within 25 feet of them. HUD adopted the rule requiring the ban to eliminate the health risks of firsthand and secondhand smoke, to reduce the risk of fire and to reduce maintenance costs.

To learn more about HUD’s ruling click here.

PACT Welcomes New Program Specialist – TRU

PACT is excited to welcome Molly Anthony into the Program Specialist – TRU position! With Molly’s previous experience in education, she is excited to be assisting with youth advocacy efforts for TRU. Molly is currently finishing up her Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration and Management from Point Park University. Prior to her current role, she interned for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Molly looks forward to helping with tobacco prevention efforts throughout Pennsylvania!

To contact Molly email her at Molly.Anthony@lung.org.

FY17 MPOWER Report

The Pennsylvania Tobacco Prevention and Control Program has released is MPOWER Annual Summary Report for State Fiscal year 2016/2017. This report contains information on the worksite tobacco policy initiative, multi-unit housing, young lungs at play, regional cessation, PA Free Quitline, PACT, enforcement checks, and much more!

Pennsylvania’s TRU January 2018 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

0 Comments

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

0 Comments

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

0 Comments

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.