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March 2012
In This Issue:
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CDC Launches First National Cessation Campaign
On March 15, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new national campaign called "Tips from Former Smokers," which uses real smokers to illustrate the consequences of living with smoking-related illnesses and disabilities. This highly anticipated campaign fulfills the promise of the Affordable Care Act to expand public health programs that protect and save lives. From our decade of public education interventions, we at Legacy know the importance of multimedia campaigns and the effects and
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Photo of Brandon, 31, North Dakota; diagnosed with Buerger's disease at age 18. |
results they generate.
Nearly 70 percent of smokers say they want quit. This campaign will provide the hard-hitting information and resources needed to encourage smokers to take that first step and commit to quitting. In recent years, the decline in smoking rates has leveled off, so the federal campaign comes at a much-needed time. Additionally, tobacco companies continue to spend nearly $10 billion dollars a year advertising its products. Medical costs associated with tobacco-related disease are costing the nation nearly $100 billion per year.
The campaign, which began March 19 and will run for 12 weeks, includes television, radio, online and print spots as well as theater ads and billboards that will appear in cities around the country. Many of the ads are tagged with 1-800-QUIT-NOW- a free number to access quit resources across the country - and www.smokefree.gov which provides free coaching and quit help.
"The release of the Surgeon General's Report on March 8 detailed just how much of a toll tobacco use continues to take on our nation and young people," said Dr. Cheryl Healton. "The report made clear that mass media campaigns are an important component in keeping people from smoking, or helping them quit. The nation needs this campaign to reach smokers with its life-saving message and Legacy applauds the CDC for keeping tobacco high on the public health agenda."
Watch the videos here.
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Message from the President: Help Build a Legacy by Sharing A Personal Story
Tobacco is the nation's number-one cause of preventable death. I have lost too many people close to me - including my mother, uncle, former husband and aunt - to tobacco-related diseases. Despite witnessing firsthand the horrible impact tobacco use took on my own family, I, too, was a pack-a-day smoker for more than 25 years. But today, the work that I do is fueled by my love for those I have lost and by my resolve to build a world where young people can reject tobacco and anyone can quit smoking.
People need to know that living a long, healthy life without tobacco is possible, and for this reason I have shared my story with others on MyLegacyStory.org. The site serves as a space to not only build a community of people who support the same mission, but also a place where smokers can share successful stories of quitting or family members can remember loved ones they have lost. In addition, pledge pages allow the capability to truly build a meaningful Legacy.
Please join me in telling your story. Together we can honor our own individual legacies by advancing a future that is tobacco-free.
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Is the Nation on Track to End the Tobacco Epidemic?
Five years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) put forth bold recommendations on how to end the tobacco epidemic. In the time since, the nation has seen historic changes in public policy as well as historic declines in smoking prevalence. Many recommendations from the 2007 report, Ending the Tobacco Problem: A Blueprint for the Nation, have been implemented.
However public health leaders recognize that more still needs to be done to achieve full success by 2017 - when the report will reach its decade mark.
On March 29, Legacy will host a panel of distinguished speakers that will examine the IOM report as a tool to measure progress, while highlighting key areas where improvement is needed. Harvey V. Fineberg, MD, President of the IOM, will give opening remarks, and the discussion will be moderated by Richard J. Bonnie, Committee Chair of the IOM's 2007 Report, and the Harrison Foundation Professor of Law and Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Law.
Panelists:
- The Honorable Joseph A. Califano Jr., Founder and Chair Emeritus, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia), and former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
- Tim McAfee, MD, MPH, Director of CDC's Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- Steven A. Schroeder, MD, Distinguished Professor of Health and Health Care, Department of Medicine and Director, Smoking Cessation Leadership Center, University of California, San Francisco
The program will begin at 1 p.m. EDT and will be available via webcast at www.legacyforhealth.org/WarnerSeries. No call-in
or password necessary. If you register online, you will be prompted for contact information just for our references.
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New Media: A Potential Mechanism to Exacerbate Health Related Disparities
As more Americans get their news and health information from the Internet, some groups may still lag behind in how they benefit from this information, according to a new editorial published in the Journal of Mass Communication & Journalism.
In the editorial, Amanda Richardson, Director for Research and Evaluation at Legacy, discusses how individuals need to understand how to wade through the Internet's seemingly infinite health resources to appropriately access reputable sources to fully benefit from the information available. Without this ability, the Internet may actually harm health by fostering false beliefs, encouraging use of non-approved products or services, or encouraging suspicion of the medical establishment and currently accepted clinical guidelines and practices. Complicating matters is the issue that even the most trusted web sites, such as Web MD and the National Institute of Health's web site, may be at a reading level that is too high for low education/low literacy audiences. She cites research showing that individuals searching for health information online are roughly five times more likely to have a college degree than less than a high school degree. Furthermore, those looking online for health information are more than two times more likely to be earning $75,000 or more per year, as opposed to less than $20,000 per year. They are also more often white as opposed to black.
Dr. Richardson calls for research to examine the processes that give rise to communication inequalities and underscores the need for comprehensive measures to ensure that all groups benefit equally from messages in new media.
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truth Tour Takes a Turn at SXSW Festival
In March, the truth tour teamed up with longtime partner and top youth brand Vans to bring the tour to Austin, TX during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music, Film and Interactive festival. Over nine days, the on-site truth crew met with festivalgoers, gave out gear, sponsored musical performances, and shared festival experiences through videos and social media. Along with other on-the-ground outreach efforts, truth was featured at the Vans Pop-Up Shop - Vulcanized Vinyl and after-party where truth-branded 'gear' was distributed and Vans merchandise was sold; the SXSW Vans Music Showcase; and the "No Room for Rockstars" movie premiere and after-party focusing on the Vans Warped Tour.
Having a presence during the SXSW Festival - the crossroads of new ideas and entertainment mediums that resonate with youth - is a natural alignment for the campaign. It allowed the brandto reach influencers and key tastemakers in industries where truth already has a presence and hopes to increase its presence even more.
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truth Gear Trends for Teens
First online in 1999, Loserkids (www.loserkids.com) is now one of the premier youth retailing destinations, focusing on action sports and music-influenced brands and apparel. truth gear from the 2011 summer tour is now available at the site. Among the items that can be found are five t-shirts, containing facts and information about tobacco use, and truth-branded skatedecks - a very popular item with tour attendees last summer. A portion of the proceeds will benefit truth's life-saving work.
For more than a decade, the truth youth smoking prevention campaign has produced iconic fashion items featuring facts, anecdotes and information about tobacco and the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. Each summer, truth "gear" makes its mark at grassroots events across the country, where teens who participate in activities at the truth truck and zone can take home a t-shirt, bag, hats, glasses, socks or other novelty items. In 2009, select gear items went on-sale online at the truth apparel store - a microsite on thetruth.com. truth gear has also been swapped and sold on eBay, discussed in fashion blogs and tweets, and featured in more mainstream fashion media.
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Wallet Cards Reach Far and Wide to Help Smokers "Become an Ex"
Mary Dorchester directs the food bank at the Kenduskeag Union Church in Kenduskeag, Maine, where many of the 170 families she serves consist of senior citizens living on Social Security benefits or blue-collar, working class families that struggle to put food on the table. Many families are further challenged, by having the burden of bearing the social and economic costs of using tobacco. Through the help of Legacy's Collaboration and Outreach department, the food bank recently distributed BecomeAnEX.org wallet cards in order to help families ''re-learn life' without cigarettes.
 Legacy distributed nearly half a million free EX wallet cards in 2011 to more than 500 organizations, as a tool to encourage smokers to overcome common triggers during their quit attempts. This grassroots approach drives smokers to the BecomeAnEX.org website. There, they can access a personalized quit plan and online support community. For more information or to order the cards, visit www.legacyforhealth.org/ex.
Lessons Learned Internationally From Digital Media Campaigns
BecomeAnEX.org was included as one of 26 campaign case studies published on the Global Dialogue for Effective Stop-Smoking Campaigns website. The online publication provides overall lessons learned regarding what makes digital media campaigns effective in the field of tobacco control. Read insights from campaigns pulled from 11 countries and the European Union.
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Youth Activists Talk Tobacco
Legacy's Youth Activism staff and Youth Activism Fellows participated in the fifth annual Youth and Young Adult Summit on Tobacco Advocacy in New Orleans, Louisiana organized by Legacy's Youth Board Liaison Ritney Castine. The summit served to prepare middle, high school and college students to learn about tobacco industry marketing that targets youth, the reality of youth access to tobacco products, and how young people can become involved in tobacco-related policy changes in their schools and communities. Legacy's team discussed the topic of "Social Justice and Tobacco."
The February event took place at Dillard University and was sponsored by Legacy, the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Tobacco Control Program, Dillard University, and WQUE-FM Q-93.
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Nominate a Colleague for Legacy's 2012 Tobacco Industry Documents Awards
Legacy is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2012 Tobacco Industry Documents Awards. The awards are comprised of the Sybil G. Jacobs Award for Outstanding Use of Tobacco Industry Documents and the Christine O. Gregoire Youth/Young Adult Award for Outstanding Use of Tobacco Industry Documents (for individuals 24 years of age or younger).
These awards recognize individuals who have made a significant and well-recognized contribution to the health of the public in the recent past through use of tobacco documents. The awards honor innovation in the use and application of tobacco industry documents to further the goals of tobacco prevention and control in order to help build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Those nominated should be individuals who have made a notable impact through innovative use of tobacco industry documents as applied to research, policy, or advocacy.
These awards will be presented at the National Conference on Tobacco or Health to be held August 15-17, 2012 in Kansas City, Missouri.
To submit a nomination and for more information, please visit
www.legacyforhealth.org/awards. DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED -- Friday, April 13, 2012.
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Life-Saving Messages Make a Mark
Legacy has important messages to share and the Legacy Communications team is dedicated to ensuring a variety of tobacco-related topics are heard and distributed through traditional and new media channels. Legacy's Communications Team was selected by PRWeek magazine - the public relations industry's leading trade publication - as 2012In-House PR Team of the Year / Honorable Mention. The honor recognizes Legacy as having one of the top three in-house Communications teams in the nation. The competition was fierce with fellow nominees including, McDonalds, Aflac, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the eventual winner - General Electric. Legacy was the only nonprofit to make it to the top five finalists. The Legacy team was nominated for a similar honor through the PRNews Nonprofit PR Awards.
The awards recognize Legacy's excellence in communicating the dangers of tobacco use to the public through public relations, media relations, social media and a wide variety of traditional and new media tools - all in an effort to keep the issue of tobacco use high on the public agenda.
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