In This Issue                       May 2013

• Legacy Applauds CDC's New Initiative to Encourage Smokers to "Talk With Your Doctor"
• New truth® Spot Asks "What is the ugliest truth?"
• CDC Study Finds Rise in Voluntary Smoke-free Rules
• Mental Health and Smoking Issues Take the Floor at Capitol Hill Briefing
• Dr. Cheryl G. Healton Honored by Prevent Cancer Foundation
• New Legacy Study Profiles Users of Little Cigars/Cigarillos and Large Cigars
• Support Legacy's Mission with Planned Giving

CDC Encourages Smokers to "Talk With Your Doctor"

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new feature of its historic Tips from Former Smokers ("Tips") campaign called "Talk With Your Doctor," (TWYD). This important new call-to-action encourages a life-saving dialogue about quitting smoking between smokers and one of the most important sources for living longer, healthier lives: Health care providers (HCPs). As a result of the Tips campaign, smokers continue to see the graphic and emotionally moving stories about tobacco's negative impact. The ads will now also encourage smokers to "talk with your doctor for help," a simple yet effective message that allows them to take a critical first step in the often times daunting decision to quit.

Legacy-funded research has shown that approximately one-in-ten smokers hides their smoking status from their health care providers, and a separate public opinion poll found that more than half of smokers who responded had not talked about quitting smoking with their HCPs in the last 12 months. This is a huge missed opportunity because HCPs serve as an integral part of a successful quit attempt. 

Legacy applauds this new effort by the CDC and for the leadership they've taken to help the millions of smokers nationwide who are struggling with tobacco addiction. 

Visit the Health Care Provider section of the Tips Web site at www.cdc.gov/tips/hcp to view and download the materials.

Read Legacy's full statement here.

New Spots and New Question for truth: What is the Ugliest truth? 

  

A new truth advertising campaign launched on April 29th features the campaign's first television ads since 2010, as well as entertainment integrations, contests, social and digital media. The "ugly truth" campaign reveals thought-provoking facts about tobacco products and the consequences of tobacco use -- pitted against one another. Viewers and visitors to thetruth.com are asked to consider the facts and decide "What's the ugliest truth?" Responders can cast their votes for the 'ugliest truth' at thetruth.com, on the truthFacebook page, and via hashtags on Twitter and Instagram.

Three 30-second television spots were created for the campaign, highlighting tobacco industry practices and seeking to drive online engagement. The spots are airing on cable channels popular with teens and young people, including adult swim, Comedy Central, MTV, MTV2, TeenNick and VH1. The participatory nature of the campaign - in which teens and young people are presented with information and then asked to make their own decisions about how to react to it  - sticks to the campaign's longtime tenet to provide facts and information, and then respect teens and young people's abilities to think for themselves. 

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(instagram: @truthorange)

Home Sweet Home and Car Sweet Car: CDC Study Finds Rise in Voluntary Smoke-Free Rules

A study published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that the number of U.S. adults who have adopted voluntary smoke-free rules in their homes and vehicles has steadily increased since 1992.  Currently, 81 percent of U.S. adults have rules forbidding smoking in their homes, and nearly 74 percent have smoke-free rules in their vehicles. Nonsmokers are more likely to have smoke-free rules in their homes and vehicles than smokers. Despite the high prevalence of voluntary smoke-free rules in homes and vehicles, the study found that almost 11 million non-smoking adults continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes, and almost 17 million non-smoking adults continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in a vehicle.  Exposure to secondhand smoke is particularly high in certain subpopulations such as men, young adults, non-Hispanic blacks, and those who have lower levels of education.  While the high rates of voluntary smoke-free rules are encouraging, no level of secondhand smoke is safe.  The study highlights the importance of continuing efforts to raise awareness on the dangers of secondhand smoke. Read the study: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2013/12_0218.htm. 

• Read Legacy's Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet. 

Mental Health and Smoking Issues Take the Floor at Capitol Hill Briefing

 
While the smoking rate for those who do n

Varda Shoham, Senior Advisor for Translational Research at the National Institute of Mental Health

ot have a mental

illness in the U.S. is 21 percent, individuals with some form of mental illness smoke at a rate nearly 70 percent higher. On May 15, Legacy co-hosted its annual Congressional Briefing with Women's Policy, Inc. on Capitol Hill in coordination with the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. The discussion focused on the connection between women, smoking, and mental health.

Legacy President and CEO Dr. Cheryl Healton moderated the briefing, which featured speakers from a wide spectrum of medical fields, including perspectives from Dr. Varda Shoham of the National Institute of Mental Health; Dr. Jill Williams, Director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; and Dr. William Lawson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Howard University College of Medicine. The speakers discussed the epidemiology of smoking and mental health, the disparate effects of smoking on minority populations, and the disproportionate impact of smoking on women with mental health issues.

Read Legacy's Report, "A Hidden Epidemic: Tobacco Use and Mental Illness"

The briefing served as an important introduction and reminder of the important connection between smoking and mental health - a link that must be addressed by public health and public policy makers in order to see systematic change and save lives.  Those in attendance included staff members for Representatives and Senators, individuals from various federal government agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, and various others.  

Legacy President and CEO Honored for Service in Public Health to Save Lives

This month, the Prevent Cancer Foundation recognized Legacy President and CEO Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, as the first recipient of the James L. Mulshine, M.D., Leadership Award. The award recognizes Healton's 25+ career and  tireless work in the public health field, specifically on tobacco control issues. A former smoker herself, Dr. Healton's first-hand understanding of addiction has driven her passion to find real-world solutions to smoking cessation.

Legacy Study Profiles Users of Little Cigars/Cigarillos and Large Cigars

A new study published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research looks at a nationally representative sample of young adults in the U.S. to examine the prevalence of use of little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs) versus large cigars (LCs) and the profile of these distinct cigar users. The study found that cigar use was high among young adults, with the highest proportion of them using both LCCs and LCs. These dual users of LCs and LCCs were more likely to be female, non-Hispanic Black and use a higher number of tobacco products compared with LC-only users. To our knowledge, the study is the first of its kind to assess the demographic characteristics and tobacco use behaviors of LCC-only, LC-only and dual users of both cigar types among a nationally representative sample of young adults. 

Legacy Gratefully Accepts Planned Gifts

As a 501 (c) (3) non-profit public health charity, Legacy gratefully accepts planned gifts to ensure that we can continue to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Here are a few suggested planned gifts that can benefit Legacy and provide you with the satisfaction of knowing you are making a tremendous difference in our work:

• Name Legacy (American Legacy Foundation) in your will or estate plan. You can even name Legacy as a beneficiary of your IRA, qualified retirement plan, bank or investment account. Talk to your professional legal and financial advisors, then let us know of your plans so we have the chance to thank you. For more information contact aengel@legacyforhealth.org.
• Donate a charitable gift of appreciated stock or securities! Call Anthony O'Toole at 202-454-5557 to arrange your transfer today.
• Are you over age 70 ½ and interested in contributing to Legacy through your IRA? Congress has reinstated the popular "IRA Charitable Rollover" and it will remain in effect through 2013. Talk to your financial advisors and then contact Development@legacyforhealth.org.

TOP LINKS

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