PACT Notes

November 30th, 2018
 Do you have any TRU youth you work with that are interested in being an advocate for tobacco-free lifestyles who live in Pittsburgh, NC, SC, or Philadelphia? Please have them apply for the TRU Ambassador program.
As a Tobacco 21 TRU Ambassador, youth will have the chance to advocate with other TRU youth across the state to raise the age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21.
Benefits
  • Being a part of empowering youth events (The Tobacco 21 Kickoff Event)
  • Leadership skills (a great resume builder)
  • Access to gear
  • Opportunity for a scholarship
  • The chance to make a difference!
Requirements
  • Take part in monthly conference calls
  • Lead the Tobacco 21 Uprisings among your TRU groups/in your schools and communities
  • Attend Day at the Capitol
For youth who wish to apply click here.
The CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health released an article in the Journal, Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Their study found that people living with mental health conditions are more likely to smoke cigarettes than people without these conditions, and are also likely to smoke more often, be more dependent on nicotine, have stronger withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit, and be overall less successful in quitting. This study shows that cigarette smokers with mental health conditions had increased quit attempts after reporting having seen the TV ad featuring Tips participant Rebecca, a former smoker living with depression.
To view the study click here.
Tobacco use mostly begins in adolescence and young adulthood. Earlier age of initiation of cigarette smoking is associated with greater nicotine dependence and sustained tobacco use. However, data are limited on the age of initiation of non-cigarette tobacco products, and the association between using these products and nicotine dependence and progression to established use. Results from this study showed that first tobacco use at age ≤13 years is associated with current daily and past 30-day use of non-cigarette tobacco products, and with the development of nicotine dependence among youth ever-users. Proven tobacco prevention interventions that reach early adolescents are important to reduce overall youth tobacco use.
To view the study click here.
The Tobacco Control Legal Consortium is hosting a webinar on Thursday December 6, 2018 at 12:00 pm CST. The 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) is an accord reached between the state Attorneys General of 46 states, five U.S. territories, the District of Columbia and the four largest cigarette manufacturers in America concerning the advertising, marketing, promotion of cigarettes, and compensation for health-care costs connected to tobacco-related illness. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of this historic agreement, this webinar will review the settlement’s legacy, describe the relationship between the MSA and other monumental tobacco control developments, and explore the many opportunities for future tobacco control work.
To register click here.
The webinar hosted by the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center as the University of California San Francisco will be held Tuesday December 11, 2018 at 1:00 pm EST and one hour of free CME/CEUs are available for participants who attend the live session.
This webinar intends to explain the following:
  1. Explain the increasing prevalence of non-daily smoking
  2. Identify smoking patterns in non-daily smokers
  3. Describe quitting success rates among non-daily smokers
  4. Consider how smoking-cessation help could be structured for non-daily smokers
To register click here.
Research is one of the primary ways the American Lung Association works towards a world free of lung disease. For over a century, the American Lung Association has invested in advancing medical and scientific research and we’re continuing in that rich history. We are now investing in our 2018-2019 Research Team and funding 76 awards through the Airways Clinical Research Centers Network (ACRC) and our grants program.  Each year we open our Awards & Grants to support scientists with trailblazing research, novel ideas and innovative approaches. We receive applications from pioneering scientist from across the country unfortunately, we will not be able to fund them all and that’s where your support comes in.
You can help raise awareness about our Research program. Sharing Lung.org/Researchcan help spread the word about the groundbreaking scientific research that takes place as part of our Awards and Grants and ACRC.

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.