Greetings from the frozen tundra of Minnesota. At least we have
some good news to warm us up. Each day we are reading about more
cities and states that have banned smoking in restaurants, work
places and government offices. Elected officials are finally
recognizing that these bans are needed to send a strong message to
all that tobacco use and second hand smoke is harmful and
unacceptable. We applaud these efforts!
—Amy DeNoyer-Hickey and the Community Intervention Staff
| School Library Bans All Tobacco Ads
|
|
The Auburn, NY school board recently approved a ban on
magazines in school libraries that contain tobacco
advertising. Currently Time, Sports Illustrated and People
magazines produce editions without tobacco advertising for
schools but other popular magazines like Ebony and Popular
Mechanics do not. The school board approved the ban after it
was suggested to them by the group Reality Check, a New York
based organization which advocates changes in tobacco
advertising and contends that tobacco companies should not be
able to advertise to youth in schools. (JTO News Summary
January 26, 2007)
|
| Leading By Example |
|
 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi banned smoking in the
Speaker's Lobby effective January 10, 2007 citing the danger
of second hand smoke to her colleagues, staff, pages,
reporters and others who pass through the lobby each day.
Smoking will still be permitted on the outdoor balcony next to
the Speaker's Lobby and in Member's personal offices. Many
people and organizations including The American Lung
Association and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids praised
Pelosi's decision for making the lobby smoke free and for
taking a step to protect people from second hand smoke. (The
Hill, January 11, 2007)
|
| Wisconsin Governor Wants Tobacco Funds
Back |
|
When current Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle was the state
attorney general he opposed the sale of the tobacco settlement
to investors to use the funds to "plug a budget hole" in the
state's budget. Now it is his turn to put the funds to good
use. Doyle intends to refinance the bonds that were purchased
with the settlement dollars and use the interest to pay for
anti-smoking initiatives. Doyle also wants to raise the
cigarette tax to one dollar and twenty five cents and work to
make Wisconsin restaurants, bars and work places smoke free.
(Associated Press January 28, 2007)
February Question of the Month:
Is your state
looking to increase tobacco funding?
The first five
people to respond to me in detail at
amy@communityintervention.org will receive their choice of six
free TAP/TEG workbooks.
The January question
of the month was:
Among the youth in your
TAP/TEG groups have you seen an increase in alternative
forms of tobacco used? Bidis? Kreteks? Smokeless tobacco? What
alternative tobacco products are the boys and girls
using?
From Cheryl Horn in Toledo, Ohio we received
this response: "Besides an increase in chewing tobacco, what I
am really seeing is an increase in the sharing of hookah.
According to the World Health Organization it is possible that
a half-hour on a Hookah is like smoking 100 cigarettes! There
are warnings that it can spread TB, Hepatitis, Herpes and even
HIV. Because of the smooth taste, those that aren't educated
believe that it is safer than cigarettes. I had a high school
student who used a hookah several times a day. Meanwhile, in
one school district I've seen a decrease in the use of clove
cigarettes and kreteks, probably because I start warning kids
about them starting in 7th grade."
Thanks Cheryl for
responding to our question!
Share your knowledge with
others. The TAP/TEG e-news is read by over fifteen
hundred people across the country and your feed back can help
others who have situations similar to
yours.
February TAP/TEG Special of the Month:
Buy two Great Tobacco Gross Out Posters, item
#836GCI for only $29.95! You get the second poster for less
than half price! Standard pricing is $17.95 per poster. To
order call: 1.800.328.0417 or fax an order to us at
612.332.6537i
Regular shipping rates apply. Discounted
pricing only valid on the purchase of two posters. Offer
expires March 9, 2007.
Additional
Resources:
To see how your state ranks in youth
access to tobacco, cigarette taxes, and tobacco prevention and
control according to The American Lung Association visit:
http://lungaction.org/reports/rank-states06
To view
current information on mis-leading tobacco industry
information visit: www.tobaccoscam.ucsf.edu
To learn
more about why tobacco companies should not be allowed to
advertise in schools visit: www.realitycheckny.org
To
learn more about addiction: HBO will be showing a 14 part
series called The Addiction Project, starting March 15, 2007
| |
| Cigarette Use and HS Seniors: Good News! |
 |
Cigarette smoking among high school seniors in public
schools in the U.S. has reached an all time low according to
the most recent data from Monitoring the Future. Only 21.6% of
12th graders reported smoking cigarettes in the past thirty
days down from 36.5% in 1997 and 38.8% in 1976. The percentage
of students who perceived smoking one or more packs of
cigarettes a day as a "great risk" reached a record 77.6% in
2006. (Cesar Fax, University of Maryland January 29,
2007)
TAP/TEG Training dates and locations:
March
12-13, 2007 Indianapolis, IN
March 26-27, 2007
Minneapolis, MN
April 3-4, 2007
Helena, Montana
April 9-10, 2007
Elkton, Kentucky
Training dates added weekly. Watch our website for
details.
|
|
