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Message from the President
 Greetings, Colleagues:
This summer is in full swing, with truth® on tour, exciting initiatives from EX®, new research on smoking in movies, e-cigarettes and more.
Most recently, Legacy had the opportunity of presenting more information about its life-saving programs at the 2012 Aspen Ideas Festival, which brought together executives from the nation's most innovative companies and organizations, along with key national influencers, policymakers and leading journalists. Through our educational efforts at the festival, we hoped to place tobacco control and public health in front - and on the minds - of these potential influencers. We aimed to inspire attendees and underscore that one person can make a difference by championing issues that matter to them, thereby setting in motion 'ripple effects' that change social norms and potentially save lives.
Many of us in tobacco control are also gearing up for the much anticipated National Conference on Tobacco or Health in Kansas City in August. The conference always serves as a valuable forum to collectively share resources and connect in person as we fight to save lives from the tobacco epidemic. Legacy will be participating in several presentations as well as hosting a Town Hall meeting and Partners' Reception. We look forward to seeing you there.
Sincerely,
Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH
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Higher Rates of E-Cigarette Use among Current Smokers
Survey findings released in July show new insight into the use and awareness of electronic cigarettes, devices that allow smokers to inhale vaporized nicotine in a cigarette-like fashion. According to a peer-reviewed scientific article in the American Journal of Public Health, 40.2 percent of American adults have heard of e-cigarettes and about 70 percent of current smokers who have heard of e-cigarettes believe they are less harmful than regular cigarettes. This is the first nationally representative study to look at awareness and prevalence of these products.
The study showed use of e-cigarettes was higher among current smokers than the rest of the population. The researchers say there could be various reasons for this, including that e-cigarettes are perceived as safer than regular cigarettes, are used as cessation devices, or are used to avoid smoke-free indoor air laws.
While E-cigarettes, formally known as Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), may not be traditional cigarettes, they do deliver the addictive drug nicotine. They have been marketed as a harm-reducing alternative to smoking and some consumers use them as an aid to help quit smoking. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not yet regulate these products and therefore has not reviewed such claims.
Scientists have raised concerns about the need for regulation of ENDS as well as how they might affect smokers who are trying to quit, or attract non-smokers - especially youth and young adults - who might be attracted a "high-tech" approach to nicotine intake or be attracted by the availability of different flavors. Based on evidence that e-cigarettes may also be associated with dual use, and with no reliable evidence that they are effective as a smoking cessation aid and with serious, documented quality control concerns, Legacy continues to believe that it is premature for these products to be on the market. In contrast, there are many evidence-based cessation aids on the market that have been approved by FDA such as nicotine gum, patch, lozenge, inhaler as well as other pharmacotherapies and other proven treatments like behavior therapies, telephone quitlines, support groups and internet cessation programs.
To read more details of the study, click here.
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The Plot Thickens for Smoking in Movies
Movies that include smoking can be just as powerful as traditional tobacco advertisements. An increasing body of research - supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the U.S. Surgeon General - shows that smoking in movies can cause youth to smoke, nearly 180,000 adolescents each year.
A new study published this month in the journal Pediatrics takes a deeper look at movie smoking exposure. The researchers, from Dartmouth Medical School, examined the impact of different ratings on smoking onset, confirming PG-13 movies' effect on adolescent smoking. The results show that smoking in both PG-13 and R movies have the same effect on youth and both increase risk for smoking among viewers. But, because youth viewership of PG-13 movies is higher, smoking in PG-13 films accounts for two-thirds of the total effect movies have on adolescent smoking. By eliminating smoking from PG-13 movies, an R-rating for movie smoking would cut youth smoking by almost one-fifth (18 percent).
In order to investigate whether other on-screen elements of films - beyond smoking - were stimulating youth smoking, the Dartmouth researchers used the ratings system as a marker for contextual elements on which movies are rated: sexual content, profanity, drug use and violence. The researchers found that smoking in PG-13 movies had essentially the same impact on smoking initiation as R-rated movies, indicating that it is the smoking, and not other behaviors, that primarily impacts adolescent behavior.
"This study demonstrates that it is not some unmeasured characteristic of adolescents drawn to edgy, R-rated movies that accounts for the movie effect on behavior. The simplest explanation is best: kids see realistic depictions of smoking on screen and that makes them want to light up," said Dr. James Sargent, Professor of Pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School and the lead author of the study.
Read the full release here.
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Legacy's "Ripple Effect" Series at Aspen Ideas Fesitval
We have long contended that a legacy is not something you 
leave behind when you die, but something you build every day you live. Improving public health is our passion and harnessing that passion is what the "Ripple Effect" series was all about. At the Aspen Ideas Festival in June, Legacy hosted these thought-leader chats in an effort to connect conference attendees with Legacy while bringing public health topics to the forefront of the global agenda. Participants in the series included:
- Anne-Marie Slaughter: Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University and the mother of two teenage sons. Through her honest cover article in last month's Atlantic, Why Women Still Can't Have It All, she explores the ongoing challenges facing women in the work place and how the work/life balance continues to prove elusive for many women.
- Bob Harper:
 Fitness expert, television star and New York Times #1 best-selling author. While working as a trainer on NBC's The Biggest Loser, he has encouraged millions of people to tackle a healthier lifestyle. During his discussion with Legacy CEO Dr. Cheryl Healton, he discussed how fitness is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle, and the ripple effect that fitness can have in today's society. - Dr. Nora Volkow: Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Volkow discussed her groundbreaking research around the field of epigenetics - and our understanding of addiction and the human brain.
Legacy was also a part of several other panels, including:
- More Than a Privilege: Should Sports Be A Right?, featuring: Bob Harper; Dr. Cheryl Healton; Dr. Jonathon Fielding; Tom Ferris and Tom McMillen (moderator)
- Investing in Our Nation's Health, featuring: Dr. Cheryl Healton; Jason Baron, US Trust; and Anna Deavere Smith (moderator); and
- Our Genes and Our Addictions, featuring Dr. Nora Volkow; Dr. Cheryl Healton; Dr. Amir Levine; Scott Stossel (moderator).
Learn more about the Aspen Ideas Festival at http://www.aspenideas.org/.
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Know a Community Activist? Nominate a Deserving Colleague Today!
Legacy is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2012 Community Activist Award. The award celebrates exceptional individuals who demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to creating a tobacco-free world in their local community. Each nominee must be a recognized leader in his or her community with experience spearheading innovative and influential tobacco control projects, especially those that reflect Legacy's mission to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. To submit a nomination and for more information, please visit http://www.legacyforhealth.org/caa.
The deadline for nominations is Monday, September 17, 2012.
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Pacific Partners for Tobacco-Free Islands: Weaving Together our Resources and Cultures to Address Tobacco Use
For years, Legacy and other regional and national partners have supported the efforts of the Pacific Partners for Tobacco - Free Islands (PPTFI), which was formed to address the tobacco epidemic in the USAPI jurisdictions of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Through PPTFI's efforts, public health and community advocates hope to support comprehensive tobacco control programs to reduce smoking rates and shift social norms around tobacco use, ultimately saving lives.
Legacy recently released a new monograph that puts a spotlight on the tobacco control efforts of the U.S. Associated Pacific Islands (USAPI). Due to the distance from the continental United States, distances between the jurisdictions themselves, and extreme differences in time zones, interactions between USAPI and the continental tobacco control movements are very challenging. Legacy created this publication in partnership with the PPFTI to promote enhanced knowledge or awareness among tobacco control experts and practitioners in the United States about unique cultural and socioeconomic aspects of tobacco control in various USAPI jurisdictions. This monograph highlights successes, challenges and lessons learned from the tobacco control efforts in USAPI.
Access the monograph here.
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Macy's Helps Save Lives and Money
This August Legacy is teaming up with Macy's to s ave lives by helping shoppers save money. Through "SHOP for a Cause," consumers can receive discounts up to 25 percent off regular and sale merchandise by purchasing a $5 shopping pass from Legacy. Macy's store purchases can be made in-store on August 24th and 25th - depending on the location. Proceeds from the shopping pass sales will support the life-saving work done by Legacy. To purchase a special Macy's Shopping Pass, contact JoAnn Hoggard at jhoggard@legacyforhealth.org.
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View a Showing of "The Last Smoker in America" with Legacy
Theater fans have a new opportunity to save lives and money by buying Broadway show tickets at Givenik.com. Givenik.com is a new way to get discount tickets, premium seats and group rates to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. As a beneficiary, 5 percent of every ticket purchased supports Legacy's work.
Fans and supports can watch shows like the new award-winning off-Broadway musical comedy, "The Last Smoker in America" starting on August 3.
Described as, "A cheeky, rollicking new musical comedy, 'The Last Smoker in America' is as irreverent as its title suggests. Set in the not-too-distant future when smoking has been made illegal, the show has an unlikely protagonist in Pam, who can't seem to kick her habit. Along with her addiction, she's up against a troubled teenage son, a husband with rock-star aspirations, and a next-door neighbor on an anti-smoking crusade. In other words, she's got a lot to sing about."
To purchase tickets, visit www.givenik.com, and designate "American Legacy Foundation" as your charity of choice -under the "Health" section.
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