PACT Notes

October 12th, 2018

SPECIAL EDITION: PACT Advocacy Priorities 2019
We are very excited to announce that this year’s advocacy priorities for PACT will be:
Tobacco 21 and MSA Funding for Tobacco Control Programs and Services
Tobacco 21 Campaign
Goal: Increase the minimum age of sale for all tobacco products from 18 to 21
The aim for this year is to pass Tobacco 21 in Pennsylvania. With this ambitious goal, PACT is working behind the scenes in an effort to support advocates with an array of advocacy resources.
Mark your calendars for the Pennsylvania Tobacco 21 Campaign Training webinar, scheduled for November 1st, 2018 at 10:00am! This training will officially roll out this year’s campaign, providing updates on current legislation, an overview of PACT’s advocacy strategy, TRU engagement, Tobacco 21 resources for advocates, and more.
Click here to register for the webinar.
PACT will have a Tobacco 21 toolkit of advocacy resources available to provide comprehensive and up-to-date information for educating the public and legislators on this important issue. Be on the lookout for the announcement of the Toolkit in November!
Tobacco 21 and TRU
Upcoming TRU Advisor Train-the-Trainer Webinar
  • TRU Advisors will have the chance to learn how to train their TRU members on how to become great advocates. They’ll learn best practices for advocating with youth and even learn more about speaking with legislators and practicing legislative visits with their TRU members. Keep an eye out for more information and when this webinar will be held.
Upcoming Tobacco 21 Resources and Activities
  • We will soon have a full resource page and website dedicated to Tobacco 21! Stay tuned for the release of the new TRU website. Until then, take a look at our resources on our Advocacy Toolkit.
  • We also have a lot of exciting Tobacco 21 TRU Storms coming up this fall! For our first Tobacco 21 TRU Storm, have TRU members each make a video clip of themselves sharing ONE reason why they support the Tobacco 21 movement. Share the videos and tag them with #UpTheAge and #UpTheAgePA so we can share it.
  • We’ll be sharing our 21 favorite videos during the Great American Smokeout in November (Nov 16) so watch out for your video and we’ll send out some awesome Tobacco 21 swag!
Calling all TRU Groups!
  • If you have a TRU member who is interested in taking a lead in their community and has a passion to raise the tobacco purchasing age from 18 to 21, then it sounds like they are ready to become a Tobacco 21 TRU Ambassador!
  • TRU Ambassadors have the chance to attend exciting Tobacco 21 events and meet other youth leaders from different states like West Virginia and Maryland. These ambassadors are the forefront in this Tobacco 21 Campaign to help get the age raised! If selected, they will also be awarded a scholarship at the end of the school year. Click here to apply or e-mail Molly Anthony for more information.
Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) Campaign
Goal: Secure and sustain MSA funding for tobacco prevention and control programs and services
Expect to see the roll out of the MSA campaign around the release of the Governor’s budget in early February! PACT will be providing an updated training and toolkit for advocates to support legislative visits and community education.
A Note on Elections
The November elections will have an impact on legislative visits this year. Because of the anticipated changes and the limited amount of session days left this year, PACT is recommending that advocates concentrate their legislative visits after the start of the new session, anticipated January 1st, 2019. This will ensure that we have the most impact and are speaking with legislators that can weigh in on support of our issues.
Legislative visits should focus on Tobacco 21 and MSA.
We look forward to advancing our advocacy efforts with you on lifesaving tobacco control policies in the Commonwealth!

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.