PACT Notes

May 25, 2018 

High-Nicotine Dependent Smokers ‘Less Likely’ to Quit After Lung Cancer Screening
Tobacco cessation is considered the single most effective primary prevention strategy for reducing the risk of lung cancer death in patients. Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina conducted a secondary research analysis on the National Lung Screening Trial and found that current smokers have varying levels of tobacco dependence that can help predict a person’s ability to quit and clinical outcomes. A single question within this screening tool, was associated with outcomes in this population. Specifically, those who had their first cigarette within five minutes of waking were significantly less likely to be successful in smoking cessation, significantly more likely to have lung cancer and had significantly higher rates of death. Utilizing this information can help to develop tailored tobacco treatment plans and improve risk assessment for lung cancer, which may lead to better individual and health system outcomes in the future.

Strategies to Tackle Workplace Tobacco Use
Want to learn more about smokefree policy? Click here.

Can Facebook Help You Quit Smoking? Study Indicates Yes
Facebook may be able to help people quit smoking, according to a UCSF study. This study used the world’s most popular social media site to recruit 500 smokers ages 18 to 25. It exposed them to messages about quitting and counseling about quitting, all through Facebook. Participants joined a private Facebook group in which they could communicate with a trained counselor through a weekly live counseling session, similar to a Reddit-style question-and-answer exchange. Researchers also created daily posts tailored to the participants’ level of interest in quitting. Researchers were particularly interested in targeting young adults because that age group does not use traditional quitting programs as often as older adults, even though the programs are accessible online and through texting services.

The University of Utah Will Become Tobacco-Free in July

Worthington, OH City Council Passes Tobacco 21 Law

PACT Notes

PACT Notes – December 21, 2018

PACT Notes – December 21, 2018

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

PACT Notes – December 14, 2018

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

PACT Notes – December 7, 2018

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.