October 2009
In This Issue:
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 EX® Reaches Sports Fans as Legacy Research Finds One-in-Three Smoke, Five-of-Six While Watching Sports
 As Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series (ALCS) begins, millions of baseball fans will also see new ads behind home plate for EX®. According to new research conducted by the foundation 63 percent of sports fans surveyed are current or former smokers and 76 percent of those current or former smokers have smoked while watching or attending sporting events. This winter, many of them will be exposed to new quit smoking messages through the EX campaign. The placement of the ads during the ALCS and World Series is the first of several that will appear in different sports venues through the winter, including "Bassmasters" programming on ESPN2 and national radio programming on Sporting News Radio. They launched October 16 during Game 1 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium and will run in various formats through January to encourage smokers to visit BecomeAnEX.org for a free comprehensive plan to "re-learn life without cigarettes." Legacy's new survey examined whether sports fans were exposed to secondhand smoke while watching sports; smoked while watching sports at certain venues; or whether those who quit smoking relapsed while watching a game. The survey also examined whether watching sports was a trigger for fans who smoke. The survey found that 60 percent of sports fans have been exposed to secondhand smoke while watching or attending sporting events in the past year and that 36 percent of sports fans who smoke or used to smoke are extremely tempted to smoke while viewing sporting events in their own home. When the score of the game is close, nearly one-third are tempted to light up. The culture of baseball has long held a close association with tobacco. These new ads may also help to counter the images of players who use smokeless tobacco - both snuff and chew - whom fans of professional baseball are accustomed to seeing. Eight million Americans 12 and older use smokeless tobacco products and annually one million more begin using them. Adolescents who use smokeless are more likely to become cigarette smokers. To read the full release, click here.
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Second Conference on Menthol Cigarettes
 As the FDA weighs next steps on menthol cigarettes, experts in the public health community will convened in Washington, DC, on October 19 and 20 for the Second Conference on Menthol Cigarettes. Here, more than 150 scientists and public health advocates joined together to discuss the implications and future of menthol tobacco products - which research has shown to have enormous appeal among youth and African Americans. The conference focused on a wide range of scientific questions regarding the epidemiology, marketing, pharmacology, prevention and toxicity of cigarettes that includes menthol, which serves as a stimulant for cold receptors and an additive in approximately 90% of cigarettes manufactured in the United States. Academics, advocates, activists and representatives from national public health organizations participated. In a luncheon keynote address to conference attendees, American Legacy Foundation® President and CEO Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, made the case for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to move expeditiously to ban these deadly and addictive products under its new regulatory authority over tobacco provided by recent legislation. (To read more about her speech, click here.)
Conference sponsors and supporters included: American Cancer Society; American Heart Association; American Legacy Foundation®; American Lung Association; Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); Howard University, National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, National Cancer Institute; National Institute of Drug Abuse; National Latino Tobacco Control Network; North American Quitline Consortium, The Praxis Project, Prevención, Inc.; University of California Office of the President; University of Maryland College Park; Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program.
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Legacy Urges FDA to Ban Menthol Tobacco Products
Menthol products account for one-fifth of the U.S. cigarette market and approximately 80 percent of African-American smokers smoke menthol cigarettes. Hundreds of tobacco industry documents depict how, for decades, the tobacco industry systematically developed and marketed menthol products to attract millions of "starter" youth smokers; racial minorities, particularly African-Americans; and smokers seeking health reassurances. In order to address this issue, last month Legacy urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prohibit menthol in cigarettes and other tobacco products as one of its first priorities related to the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (the Act). Legacy submitted comments to the FDA in response to the FDA's request for public input regarding implementation of the Act. Legacy also urged the FDA to use its broad authority to extend its ban of flavored cigarettes to flavored cigars, especially little cigars and cigarillos given their appeal to youth. Given the history of trends in youth smoking, Legacy also encouraged the FDA to directly support counter-marketing and public health campaigns to the full extent of its authority, with a particular emphasis on campaigns targeted at youth. Unlike the almost consistent downward trends in adult smoking since the first Surgeon General's report in 1960, youth smoking has peaked twice at high levels, demonstrating the effectiveness of industry marketing. To read the full press release including other areas addressed in the letter to the FDA, click here.
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truth® Embarks on First-ever Fall Tour
 truth® has extended its annual tour beyond the summer months by kicking off its first-ever fall tour on October 1. truth® crew members will continue reaching teens about the health effects and social consequences of tobacco, by traveling to seven states where the campaign has been able to develop a more robust advertising presence through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The truth® campaign has been proven effective in preventing teens from starting to smoke, and while the television ads are the most iconic part of the campaign, the one-on-one peer interaction of crew members brings another level of engagement for youth. The tour environment is a tremendously effective part of the campaign's success over the years and allows teens to experience the campaign up close and in a personal, participatory fashion. The cities and states to which truth® crew members will travel includeLas Cruces, N.M., Denver, Colo., and Boise, Idaho. The tour will also be in the following areas for the first time ever:
- Missoula and Dillon, Mont.
- Cheyenne, Wyo.
- Topeka and Hays, Kan.,
- Portland, Belfast, and South Paris, Maine.
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Legacy's Schroeder Institute Secures Nearly $1 Million Grant to Study Mobile Support for D.C. Tobacco Quitline
 The rapid development and mainstream use of Internet and mobile technology for everyday needs has spurred a new opportunity in public health. Researchers are now asking how these technological resources can be used to help people quit smoking. Thanks to a $977,346 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the American Legacy Foundation®'s Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy will examine the effectiveness of Internet-based mobile phone support for the D.C. Tobacco Quitline. The system uses mobile phones to improve quit rates at 3-month intervals, relative to the standard, phone-based care already provided by the D.C. Tobacco Quitline (1-800-QUIT-NOW). Under the standard model, relatively infrequent, periodic support is provided to smokers who want to quit and seek out the services. The new system will complement that effort by increasing the quality, frequency and accessibility of quit smoking support - when and where the smoker needs it most. The study will be conducted in collaboration with the Washington, D.C., Department of Health, the D.C. Cancer Consortium, the American Lung Association of D.C. Tobacco Free Families Initiative, the American Cancer Society, and the Georgetown University Lombardi Health Disparities Initiative. To read more, click here.
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Grantee Spotlight: Pediatricians Promote Smoke-Free Homes
Health professionals who treat children play an important role in addressing tobacco and secondhand smoke exposure prevention, which can cause asthma, ear infections and upper respiratory infections in children. Oftentimes, pediatricians and child-health clinicians are the primary source of medical information for parents, so they are uniquely positioned to counsel parents, families, and patients to prevent and reduce tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Smoke Free Homes Project is one national initiative dedicated to doing just that. At a conference sponsored earlier this year by the AAP Julius B. Richmond Center for Excellence in Rochester, N.Y. - a Legacy grantee -- pediatricians, nurses and other health educators across the country heard presentations from leading pediatricians on various topics related to tobacco control and secondhand smoke. Attendees were equipped with the resources and information to achieve the post-conference goals of:
- raising awareness about tobacco and secondhand smoke exposure and developing strategies to reduce it;
- changing clinical practice to improve how families deal with these issues;
- promoting public health policies that support tobacco control.
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Help Your Health, and Help Your Pet
 Anyone who is both a smoker and a pet lover can do one very important thing to promote animal wellness as well as his own: quit smoking. While most Americans are aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke to their own bodies or their children's health, it is also important for pet owners to take action to protect their beloved domestic animals from the dangers of secondhand smoke. October is National Pet Wellness Month and a perfect time to remind pet owners of the facts below. Heeding these facts is a step in the right direction to relearning life without cigarettes, and keeping Sparky safe the next time you take your pet out for a walk.
- Just like their human families, pets can develop respiratory problems, lung inflammation, and asthma as a result of secondhand smoke.
- Exposure to smoke may be linked with nasal cancer and lung cancer in dogs and lymphoma in cats.
- Cigarette butts are toxic and can be deadly when eaten by a pet. Two butts, if eaten by a puppy, can cause death in a relatively short period of time.
For those looking to quit, the EX® Web site has a community of smokers who are quitting for their pets that can provide a nice support system for pet lovers. Visit the Quitting for Pets Group on BecomeAnEX.org for more info.
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truth® Goes Country - with Great Success
 A new study in the American Journal of Public Health shows that an effort to reach youth in rural and low population communities around the country with truth® anti-smoking messages via broadcast television was highly effective in raising campaign awareness - providing a hopeful platform to see decreased levels of smoking initiation given truth®'s effectiveness. American Legacy Foundation® researchers used local broadcast television that supplemented a national cable television buy to test the application of truth® in rural and surrounding smaller communities. The study assessed results from eight different markets - smaller communities that typically have less exposure to the national campaign - and surveyed more than 3500 teens. The "classic" truth® ads 'Body Bags' and '1200' were the spots that played in the rural areas. Some findings found that more than 70% of youths in the treatment markets were aware of the campaign after the increased advertising, compared to 40% before the increased advertising and confirmed awareness of truth® increased from 40% to 71% among youth in treatment markets, while not shifting significantly in comparison markets where advertising did not increase.
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EX® Marks the Spot In November for Smokers Looking to Quit  Starting in November and coinciding with Lung Cancer Awareness Month - the national quit smoking campaign, EX®, will debut the second phase of its advertising and promotions designed to help smokers "re-learn" life without cigarettes. The latest research estimates that nearly six million people worldwide will lose their lives to tobacco next year. In the U.S. alone, 43 million Americans still smoke so an innovative approach is critical to helping them finally quit before it's too late. Research has shown that though more than 70 percent of smokers want to quit, only about 5 percent of smokers are able to quit successfully.
The EX campaign will begin airing on radio and cable television networks as well as online, in print and through ambient/out of home channels. EX is a national quit smoking campaign, sponsored by the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation, a two-year old collaborative of state and national public health groups spearheaded by Legacy. EX is more than an advertising campaign, it provides evidence-based tools to help smokers quit, including information that can help them prepare for a quit attempt by:
1. "Re-learning" their thinking on the behavioral aspects of smoking and how different smoking triggers can be overcome with practice and preparation;
2. "Re-learning" their knowledge of addiction and how medications can increase their chances for quitting success;
3. "Re-learning" their ideas of how support from friends and family members can play a critical role in quitting.
Stay tuned for the latest creative advertising from this national campaign!
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Study Shows Smokers Trust EX® Smoking Cessation Program
 New research released in September's Social Marketing Quarterly and conducted by the American Legacy Foundation® demonstrates how the nationalEX® quit smoking campaign resonates with smokers. The study examined receptivity to the EX brand across three different racial/ethnic populations and among smokers who were thinking about quitting in three pilot market cities where the campaign was originally tested: Grand Rapids, Mich., Baltimore, and San Antonio. In Grand Rapids, 435 White smokers were surveyed, Baltimore studied 301 African-American smokers and San Antonio analyzed 271 Hispanic/Latino smokers. The majority of respondents felt that EX was a trusted and empathetic brand. The analysis found that 69 percent of the White audience indicated that EX provided helpful information that could be utilized in a future quit attempt. Eighty percent of African-Americans and 65 percent of Hispanics found the same to be true. The results also indicated that "the EX brand made me feel as if there was help out there for smokers like me," for 74 percent of Whites, 83 percent of African-American and 67 percent of Hispanics/Latinos. Smokers who were contemplating quitting or were more motivated to quit were significantly more receptive to the EX brand than those who had not yet reached that point in their quit processes or were less motivated to quit smoking. This important distinction demonstrated that receptivity was higher among the intended target audience (those already thinking about quitting) - a success attributed to the use of market segmentation by the program's creators. To read the full press release, click here.
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Update on Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation (OTPF) Litigation
On October 14, 2009, a Columbus, Ohio appellate court heard legal arguments in Legacy's ongoing challenge to the state's effort to reclaim over $200 million it had previously dedicated to tobacco control. A state trial court judge ruled in August that because Ohio had permanently placed those funds in a trust dedicated to tobacco control, the state could not now reallocate those funds for other purposes. Former Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery filed a friend of the court brief in support of Legacy's position, explaining that the state had intended to permanently set aside the funds for tobacco control. The brief was joined by former Ohio State Senate President Richard H. Finan and former Director of the Ohio Department of Health, J. Nick Baird, MD. A coalition of Ohio-based and national public health groups as well as the Citizens' Commission to Protect the Truth also filed friend of the court briefs in support of Legacy. The case awaits the court's decision.
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New Report from Institute of Medicine Examines Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects
Addressing the nation's tobacco epidemic once again, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) report, "Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence" demonstrates that Americans should continue to be concerned about the impact of secondhand smoking on their health, and the issue should remain a priority on the public health agenda. Research has shown that approximately 35,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease are attributable to SHS exposure each year. The IOM's cohort analysis of eleven publications found that exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) increases the risk of coronary heart disease by 25-30 percent. One of the report's most significant conclusions showed that smoke-free laws can actually prevent heart attacks. The report can be found on the National Academies of Science's Web site at http://www.nap.edu/.
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Rural America: Unique Challenges in Tobacco Control
 The foundation recently released a new dissemination publication entitled Tobacco Control in Rural America. This July 2009 publication - Legacy's seventh in a series of dissemination reports - highlights tobacco-related disparities facing rural areas and examines the unique challenges to tobacco control and prevention efforts in these areas. It also includes examples of promising interventions implemented by some of Legacy's grantees to demonstrate how organizations are addressing the issue of tobacco use in rural communities. The report is available online for free download here.
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truth® Summer Tour Wins Communications Honors
The Public Relations Society of America's National Capital Chapter honored the American Legacy Foundation with dual recognitions at the 41st Annual Thoth Awards. Legacy won two Certificates of Excellence for the truth® Orange summer tour in the categories of Integrated Communications and Media Relations. The Thoth Awards honor the best Washington, DC-area Communications programs every year.
Recently, on October 21, 2009, truth® Orange summer tour won a PR News Award in the Marketing Communications category.
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