Maternal cigarette smoking in the first trimester was associated with a 20 to 70 percent greater likelihood that a baby would be born with certain types of congenital heart defects, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defects, contributing to approximately 30 percent of infant deaths from birth defects annually.
The study found an association between tobacco exposure and certain types of defects such as those that obstruct the flow of blood from the right side of the heart into the lungs (right ventricular outflow tract obstructions) and openings between the upper chambers of the heart (atrial septal defects). The study is in the Feb. 28 issue of the journal Pediatrics.
"Women who smoke and are thinking about becoming pregnant need to quit smoking and, if they're already pregnant, they need to stop," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. "Quitting is the single most important thing a woman can do to improve her health as well as the health of her baby."
Based on the findings of this and other studies, eliminating smoking before or very early in pregnancy could prevent as many as 100 cases of right ventricular outflow tract obstructions and 700 cases of atrial septal defects each year in the United States. For atrial septal defects alone, that could potentially save $16 million in hospital costs.
"Successfully stopping smoking during pregnancy also lowers the chances of pregnancy complications such as preterm delivery and that an infant will have other complications such as low birth weight," said Adolfo Correa, M.D., Ph.D., medical officer in CDC′s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
The findings from the study, "Maternal Smoking and Congenital Heart Defects in the Baltimore-Washington Infant Study," are based on a large population-based case-control study of congenital heart defects conducted in the United States; 2,525 case and 3,435 control infants born from 1981 to 1989 were included in this analysis.
Congenital heart defects are conditions present at birth that decrease the ability of the heart to work well, which can result in an increased likelihood of death or long-term disabilities. They affect nearly 40,000 infants in the United States every year.
It is estimated that right ventricular outflow tract obstructions affect approximately 2,500 infants per year and atrial septal defects affect approximately 5,600 infants per year in the United States. In 2004, U.S. hospital costs for all congenital heart defects were estimated at approximately $1.4 billion.
Source: PRNewswire
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Showing posts with label smoking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smoking. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Surgeon General's Report Dramatically Demonstrates Immediate Harm From Smoking and Secondhand Smoke
/PRNewswire-/ -- The following is a statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:
The U.S. Surgeon General's report released today provides dramatic new evidence that smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke cause immediate harm to the human body, triggering physical changes that lead to cancer, heart attacks, lung disease and many other serious illnesses, including damage to the reproductive systems of both men and women.
The report also concludes that design changes to cigarettes, such as filter ventilation, flavoring agents and added chemical ingredients, have over time made them more addictive. Today's cigarettes deliver nicotine more efficiently to the brain, addicting kids more quickly and making it harder for smokers to quit. The tobacco industry's decades-long effort to finely engineer cigarettes, along with its use of deceptive (and now-banned) cigarette descriptions such as "light" and "low-tar," have undermined smoking prevention and cessation efforts, the report says.
Nearly 50 years after the first Surgeon General's report on tobacco was released in 1964, this latest report is a stark reminder of how lethal and addictive smoking truly is, with every cigarette doing you damage. It sends an unmistakable message to elected officials at all levels that reducing smoking is one of the most effective actions we can take to improve the nation's health and prevent some of the most deadly and costly diseases in our society.
The report also sends important messages to America's kids and smokers. If you do not smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, try to quit immediately and get the help you need to succeed. This is true not only for regular smokers, but also for the 22 percent of smokers who do not smoke every day and to those who consider themselves only "social" smokers and may think they are not at risk. This report's message is clear: You are at risk. There is no risk-free level of exposure to tobacco smoke, and you don't have to be a heavy or long-time smoker to develop a smoking-related disease.
The report underscores the importance of actions that we know work to prevent kids from starting to smoke, help smokers quit and protect everyone's right to breathe clean air, free of the hundreds of toxic chemicals in secondhand smoke. Despite progress in making workplaces and public spaces smoke-free, four in ten non-smokers – and more than half of children between 3 and 11 – are still exposed to secondhand smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No one should have to breathe secondhand smoke at work or in public places, and parents should ensure that homes, cars and other places frequented by children are smoke-free.
Federal, state and local policymakers must redouble their efforts to implement proven measures that reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
The federal government must fund and aggressively implement the new tobacco prevention plan that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced last month. The plan includes a national media campaign to prevent kids from smoking and encourage smokers to quit; expanded assistance and health insurance coverage for smokers trying to quit; effective regulation of tobacco products and marketing; and accelerated research to enhance strategies to reduce tobacco use.
The Food and Drug Administration must continue to vigorously exercise its new authority to regulate the manufacture, marketing and sale of tobacco products to keep these harmful products away from our children and reduce their devastating effects on public health.
The states must step up their efforts to reduce tobacco use by increasing tobacco taxes, enacting smoke-free workplace laws and fully funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs at levels recommended by the CDC. Unfortunately, states have slashed funding for tobacco prevention programs by 28 percent in the past three years and now fund such programs at the lowest level since 1999, when they first received funds from the settlement of state lawsuits against the tobacco industry. The states this year (Fiscal Year 2011) will collect $25.3 billion in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only two percent of it — $517.9 million — on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
The Surgeon General's report details the serious health effects of even brief exposure to tobacco smoke. It concludes that:
* Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and compounds, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 70 that cause cancer.
* Every exposure to the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke can damage DNA in a way that leads to cancer.
* Exposure to secondhand smoke has an immediate adverse impact on the cardiovascular system, damaging blood vessels, making blood more likely to clot and increasing risks for heart attack and stroke.
* Smoking makes it harder for women to get pregnant and can cause miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight. It also harms male fertility.
The Surgeon General's report provides the grim details of how tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans each year and costs almost $100 billion in health care expenditures. It underscores the need for political will and urgent action to win the fight against tobacco.
The report, titled "How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease," can be found at: www.surgeongeneral.gov.
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The U.S. Surgeon General's report released today provides dramatic new evidence that smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke cause immediate harm to the human body, triggering physical changes that lead to cancer, heart attacks, lung disease and many other serious illnesses, including damage to the reproductive systems of both men and women.
The report also concludes that design changes to cigarettes, such as filter ventilation, flavoring agents and added chemical ingredients, have over time made them more addictive. Today's cigarettes deliver nicotine more efficiently to the brain, addicting kids more quickly and making it harder for smokers to quit. The tobacco industry's decades-long effort to finely engineer cigarettes, along with its use of deceptive (and now-banned) cigarette descriptions such as "light" and "low-tar," have undermined smoking prevention and cessation efforts, the report says.
Nearly 50 years after the first Surgeon General's report on tobacco was released in 1964, this latest report is a stark reminder of how lethal and addictive smoking truly is, with every cigarette doing you damage. It sends an unmistakable message to elected officials at all levels that reducing smoking is one of the most effective actions we can take to improve the nation's health and prevent some of the most deadly and costly diseases in our society.
The report also sends important messages to America's kids and smokers. If you do not smoke, don't start. If you do smoke, try to quit immediately and get the help you need to succeed. This is true not only for regular smokers, but also for the 22 percent of smokers who do not smoke every day and to those who consider themselves only "social" smokers and may think they are not at risk. This report's message is clear: You are at risk. There is no risk-free level of exposure to tobacco smoke, and you don't have to be a heavy or long-time smoker to develop a smoking-related disease.
The report underscores the importance of actions that we know work to prevent kids from starting to smoke, help smokers quit and protect everyone's right to breathe clean air, free of the hundreds of toxic chemicals in secondhand smoke. Despite progress in making workplaces and public spaces smoke-free, four in ten non-smokers – and more than half of children between 3 and 11 – are still exposed to secondhand smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No one should have to breathe secondhand smoke at work or in public places, and parents should ensure that homes, cars and other places frequented by children are smoke-free.
Federal, state and local policymakers must redouble their efforts to implement proven measures that reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.
The federal government must fund and aggressively implement the new tobacco prevention plan that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced last month. The plan includes a national media campaign to prevent kids from smoking and encourage smokers to quit; expanded assistance and health insurance coverage for smokers trying to quit; effective regulation of tobacco products and marketing; and accelerated research to enhance strategies to reduce tobacco use.
The Food and Drug Administration must continue to vigorously exercise its new authority to regulate the manufacture, marketing and sale of tobacco products to keep these harmful products away from our children and reduce their devastating effects on public health.
The states must step up their efforts to reduce tobacco use by increasing tobacco taxes, enacting smoke-free workplace laws and fully funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs at levels recommended by the CDC. Unfortunately, states have slashed funding for tobacco prevention programs by 28 percent in the past three years and now fund such programs at the lowest level since 1999, when they first received funds from the settlement of state lawsuits against the tobacco industry. The states this year (Fiscal Year 2011) will collect $25.3 billion in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only two percent of it — $517.9 million — on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
The Surgeon General's report details the serious health effects of even brief exposure to tobacco smoke. It concludes that:
* Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and compounds, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 70 that cause cancer.
* Every exposure to the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke can damage DNA in a way that leads to cancer.
* Exposure to secondhand smoke has an immediate adverse impact on the cardiovascular system, damaging blood vessels, making blood more likely to clot and increasing risks for heart attack and stroke.
* Smoking makes it harder for women to get pregnant and can cause miscarriage, premature birth and low birth weight. It also harms male fertility.
The Surgeon General's report provides the grim details of how tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans each year and costs almost $100 billion in health care expenditures. It underscores the need for political will and urgent action to win the fight against tobacco.
The report, titled "How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease," can be found at: www.surgeongeneral.gov.
-----
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010
New Report: States Slash Funding for Tobacco Prevention Programs to Lowest Level Since Tobacco Settlement
/PRNewswire-/ -- The states have slashed funding for programs to reduce tobacco use to the lowest level since 1999, when they first received tobacco settlement funds, according to a report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.
The states this year (Fiscal Year 2011) will collect $25.3 billion in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only two percent of it – $517.9 million – on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. The states have cut funding for such programs by nine percent ($51.4 million) in the past year and by 28 percent ($199.3 million) in the past three years.
With the U.S. adult smoking rate stalled at 20.6 percent after decades of decline, the report warns that continued progress against tobacco use – the nation's number one cause of preventable death – is at risk unless states increase funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The report also calls on states to increase tobacco taxes and, for states that have yet to do so, to enact strong smoke-free laws that apply to all workplaces, restaurants and bars.
The report further calls on the federal government to robustly fund and implement the national tobacco prevention strategy unveiled last week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including launching a national media campaign to discourage kids from smoking and encourage smokers to quit.
The report, titled "A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 12 Years Later," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. These organizations have issued annual reports assessing whether the states have kept their promise to use funds from the state tobacco settlements – estimated to total $246 billion over the first 25 years – to fight tobacco use.
"We know how to win the fight against tobacco, but we will not win it unless elected officials at all levels step up efforts to implement proven solutions," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Despite their budgetary challenges, the states are collecting huge sums from the tobacco industry and should be spending more of it to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. Tobacco prevention is a smart investment for the states that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."
Other findings of this year's report include:
* Most states are falling far short of meeting recommended funding levels for tobacco prevention programs set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The $517.9 million the states have budgeted amounts to just 14 percent of the $3.7 billion the CDC recommends for all the states combined.
* Counting both state funds and federal grants, only two states – Alaska and North Dakota – currently fund tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels. Only five other states provide even half the recommended funding, while 33 states and DC provide less than a quarter. Three states – Nevada, New Hampshire and Ohio – provide zero state funds for tobacco prevention this year.
* Tobacco companies spend nearly $25 to market tobacco products for every $1 the states spend to fight tobacco use. According to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission, tobacco companies spend $12.8 billion a year on marketing.
* Federal grants, most of them temporary, have helped to cushion the impact of funding cuts in some states. In the past year, the federal government has provided $261.6 million in state and community grants specifically dedicated to reducing tobacco use (the grants are spread over three fiscal years, so not all the money will be spent in fiscal 2011).
The report comes as recent surveys have found that smoking declines in the United States have slowed and even stalled. The CDC recently reported that the adult smoking rate in 2009 was 20.6 percent – essentially unchanged since 2004 when 20.9 percent smoked. While smoking among high school students has declined by 46 percent from a high of 36.4 percent in 1997, 19.5 percent still smoke.
"We know that much of what helps us live longer, healthier lives happens outside the doctor's office," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "With progress on smoking rates stalled, it's more important than ever for states to focus on community prevention programs and policies that work – like smoke-free restaurants and workplaces and adequate funding to prevent kids from starting and to help smokers quit."
"For every step forward in curbing tobacco use among Americans, many states have taken two steps backwards," said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown. "The public health community is appalled at the lack of commitment among a vast majority of states to adequately fund comprehensive tobacco prevention and cessation programs with the settlement dollars. As tobacco companies devise new tactics to increase smoking rates among children and adults, it's more important than ever to protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco use and give smokers the necessary tools to reduce their risk for heart disease, stroke and other smoking-related illnesses."
"Fully funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs stop addiction before it starts and improve the health of our nation's communities," said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. "Given the record low amount that states are allocating to these important programs, they simply must do a better job at properly allocating funding that helps reduce tobacco use and protects the health of children, 4,100 of whom try their first cigarette every day."
"States have a responsibility to prevent people from starting to smoke and to ensure that all smokers have easy access to cessation treatments and services as the human and financial toll of tobacco continues to rise," said Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association President and CEO. "Preventing kids from smoking and helping smokers quit saves lives and money."
Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke kill more than 400,000 people in the United States each year and cost the nation more than $96 billion in health care bills. Every day, another 1,000 kids become regular smokers – one-third of them will die prematurely as a result.
-----
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The states this year (Fiscal Year 2011) will collect $25.3 billion in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend only two percent of it – $517.9 million – on programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. The states have cut funding for such programs by nine percent ($51.4 million) in the past year and by 28 percent ($199.3 million) in the past three years.
With the U.S. adult smoking rate stalled at 20.6 percent after decades of decline, the report warns that continued progress against tobacco use – the nation's number one cause of preventable death – is at risk unless states increase funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The report also calls on states to increase tobacco taxes and, for states that have yet to do so, to enact strong smoke-free laws that apply to all workplaces, restaurants and bars.
The report further calls on the federal government to robustly fund and implement the national tobacco prevention strategy unveiled last week by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including launching a national media campaign to discourage kids from smoking and encourage smokers to quit.
The report, titled "A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 12 Years Later," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. These organizations have issued annual reports assessing whether the states have kept their promise to use funds from the state tobacco settlements – estimated to total $246 billion over the first 25 years – to fight tobacco use.
"We know how to win the fight against tobacco, but we will not win it unless elected officials at all levels step up efforts to implement proven solutions," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Despite their budgetary challenges, the states are collecting huge sums from the tobacco industry and should be spending more of it to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. Tobacco prevention is a smart investment for the states that saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."
Other findings of this year's report include:
* Most states are falling far short of meeting recommended funding levels for tobacco prevention programs set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The $517.9 million the states have budgeted amounts to just 14 percent of the $3.7 billion the CDC recommends for all the states combined.
* Counting both state funds and federal grants, only two states – Alaska and North Dakota – currently fund tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended levels. Only five other states provide even half the recommended funding, while 33 states and DC provide less than a quarter. Three states – Nevada, New Hampshire and Ohio – provide zero state funds for tobacco prevention this year.
* Tobacco companies spend nearly $25 to market tobacco products for every $1 the states spend to fight tobacco use. According to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission, tobacco companies spend $12.8 billion a year on marketing.
* Federal grants, most of them temporary, have helped to cushion the impact of funding cuts in some states. In the past year, the federal government has provided $261.6 million in state and community grants specifically dedicated to reducing tobacco use (the grants are spread over three fiscal years, so not all the money will be spent in fiscal 2011).
The report comes as recent surveys have found that smoking declines in the United States have slowed and even stalled. The CDC recently reported that the adult smoking rate in 2009 was 20.6 percent – essentially unchanged since 2004 when 20.9 percent smoked. While smoking among high school students has declined by 46 percent from a high of 36.4 percent in 1997, 19.5 percent still smoke.
"We know that much of what helps us live longer, healthier lives happens outside the doctor's office," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "With progress on smoking rates stalled, it's more important than ever for states to focus on community prevention programs and policies that work – like smoke-free restaurants and workplaces and adequate funding to prevent kids from starting and to help smokers quit."
"For every step forward in curbing tobacco use among Americans, many states have taken two steps backwards," said American Heart Association CEO Nancy Brown. "The public health community is appalled at the lack of commitment among a vast majority of states to adequately fund comprehensive tobacco prevention and cessation programs with the settlement dollars. As tobacco companies devise new tactics to increase smoking rates among children and adults, it's more important than ever to protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco use and give smokers the necessary tools to reduce their risk for heart disease, stroke and other smoking-related illnesses."
"Fully funded tobacco prevention and cessation programs stop addiction before it starts and improve the health of our nation's communities," said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. "Given the record low amount that states are allocating to these important programs, they simply must do a better job at properly allocating funding that helps reduce tobacco use and protects the health of children, 4,100 of whom try their first cigarette every day."
"States have a responsibility to prevent people from starting to smoke and to ensure that all smokers have easy access to cessation treatments and services as the human and financial toll of tobacco continues to rise," said Charles D. Connor, American Lung Association President and CEO. "Preventing kids from smoking and helping smokers quit saves lives and money."
Tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke kill more than 400,000 people in the United States each year and cost the nation more than $96 billion in health care bills. Every day, another 1,000 kids become regular smokers – one-third of them will die prematurely as a result.
-----
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Monday, December 14, 2009
Fewer Teens Smoking, But More Teens Chewing Tobacco
/PRNewswire/ -- New data announced in today's Monitoring the Future study shows that while teen smoking rates are continuing their slow decline, an old threat has once again emerged - the use of smokeless tobacco. The study found that among 8th, 10th and 12th graders - all groups surveyed each year by the study - teen smoking rates among 8th and 12th graders continued to trend downward, while daily smoking amongst 10th graders crept upwards (5.9% in 2008 to 6.3% in 2009). Perhaps more concerning is the slight increase in daily smokeless tobacco use amongst 10th graders (now up to 1.9% in 2009 from 1.4 in 2008) and 12th graders (now 2.9 in 2009 up from 2.7 in 2008). Public health experts had predicted this increase in response to the tobacco industry's wide-ranging and aggressively marketed smokeless products now widely available.
The report, now in its 35th year, is the most respected source for data about youth smoking. In light of the findings in today's report, more needs to be done to reduce tobacco consumption writ large among the nation's youth. Also reported in today's announcement:
-- The perceived risk of using smokeless tobacco products has decreased
in all grades as has disapproval of smokeless products amongst 8th and
10th graders - a troubling trend indicating teens are not aware of the
harm smokeless products can cause and that they are a viable
alternative to cigarette smoking.
-- Teens prefer to date peers who do not smoke - 81.3% in 8th grade,
79.9% in 10th grade and 74.9% in 12th grade. This indicates that
social norms surrounding smoking continue to shift.
Legacy, the national public health foundation devoted to keeping young people from smoking and helping all smokers quit, has been committed to finding new ways to reach and engage with the teen audience, with the ultimate goal of reducing youth smoking prevalence. This is especially important as the tobacco industry continues to successfully market its products and addict new smokers.
The public health community, doctors and parents must work together to foster a continued rate of decline. The Master Settlement Agreement reached in 1998 between attorneys general from 46 states, five US territories and the tobacco industry provided our country with a unique opportunity - and with focused funding -- to address youth smoking and help smokers who want to quit.
About eighty percent of all smokers have their first cigarette before age 18(1), and every day 1,500 youth become daily smokers(2). These daily smokers will continue down a path of tobacco-related diseases and will incur higher healthcare costs than nonsmoking Americans. Funding youth smoking-prevention efforts could prevent these ill effects.
On heels of today's study release, the "Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 11 Years Later" report released last week by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and other leading public health groups, found that despite two sources of revenue -- funding provided through the Master Settlement Agreement and funding from taxes placed on tobacco -- states are spending just 2.3 percent of revenue from tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes on tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
The Monitoring the Future study has concluded that mass media campaigns can reduce smoking, especially when combined with other tobacco control strategies. However, youth smoking prevention campaigns sponsored by the tobacco industry have been ineffective and may actually have increased youth smoking.
The foundation's truth(R) youth smoking prevention campaign is a national effort that delivers facts and messages to teens about tobacco, but avoids giving directive statements telling youths not to smoke. Research has indicated that in the first four years of the campaign, 18 percent of the overall decline in youth smoking was directly attributable to truth(R). As the only organization directing a national media campaign for youth smoking prevention - other than the tobacco industry - it is critical that funding continues to grow for efforts like the truth(R) campaign and state-specific smoking prevention campaigns.
Legacy(SM) is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps Americans live longer, healthier lives. Legacy develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation's programs include truth(R), a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as having contributed to significant declines in youth smoking; EX(R), an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.legacyforhealth.org
(1) Mowery PD, Brick PD, Farrelly MC. Legacy First Look Report 3. Pathways to Established Smoking: Results from the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Washington DC: American Legacy Foundation. October 2000.
(2) MMWR. 1998. Decline Selected Cigarette Smoking Initiation and Quitting Behaviors Among High School Students. 47(19):386-389.
The report, now in its 35th year, is the most respected source for data about youth smoking. In light of the findings in today's report, more needs to be done to reduce tobacco consumption writ large among the nation's youth. Also reported in today's announcement:
-- The perceived risk of using smokeless tobacco products has decreased
in all grades as has disapproval of smokeless products amongst 8th and
10th graders - a troubling trend indicating teens are not aware of the
harm smokeless products can cause and that they are a viable
alternative to cigarette smoking.
-- Teens prefer to date peers who do not smoke - 81.3% in 8th grade,
79.9% in 10th grade and 74.9% in 12th grade. This indicates that
social norms surrounding smoking continue to shift.
Legacy, the national public health foundation devoted to keeping young people from smoking and helping all smokers quit, has been committed to finding new ways to reach and engage with the teen audience, with the ultimate goal of reducing youth smoking prevalence. This is especially important as the tobacco industry continues to successfully market its products and addict new smokers.
The public health community, doctors and parents must work together to foster a continued rate of decline. The Master Settlement Agreement reached in 1998 between attorneys general from 46 states, five US territories and the tobacco industry provided our country with a unique opportunity - and with focused funding -- to address youth smoking and help smokers who want to quit.
About eighty percent of all smokers have their first cigarette before age 18(1), and every day 1,500 youth become daily smokers(2). These daily smokers will continue down a path of tobacco-related diseases and will incur higher healthcare costs than nonsmoking Americans. Funding youth smoking-prevention efforts could prevent these ill effects.
On heels of today's study release, the "Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 11 Years Later" report released last week by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and other leading public health groups, found that despite two sources of revenue -- funding provided through the Master Settlement Agreement and funding from taxes placed on tobacco -- states are spending just 2.3 percent of revenue from tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes on tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
The Monitoring the Future study has concluded that mass media campaigns can reduce smoking, especially when combined with other tobacco control strategies. However, youth smoking prevention campaigns sponsored by the tobacco industry have been ineffective and may actually have increased youth smoking.
The foundation's truth(R) youth smoking prevention campaign is a national effort that delivers facts and messages to teens about tobacco, but avoids giving directive statements telling youths not to smoke. Research has indicated that in the first four years of the campaign, 18 percent of the overall decline in youth smoking was directly attributable to truth(R). As the only organization directing a national media campaign for youth smoking prevention - other than the tobacco industry - it is critical that funding continues to grow for efforts like the truth(R) campaign and state-specific smoking prevention campaigns.
Legacy(SM) is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps Americans live longer, healthier lives. Legacy develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation's programs include truth(R), a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as having contributed to significant declines in youth smoking; EX(R), an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.legacyforhealth.org
(1) Mowery PD, Brick PD, Farrelly MC. Legacy First Look Report 3. Pathways to Established Smoking: Results from the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Washington DC: American Legacy Foundation. October 2000.
(2) MMWR. 1998. Decline Selected Cigarette Smoking Initiation and Quitting Behaviors Among High School Students. 47(19):386-389.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Study raises concerns about outdoor second-hand smoke
Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking areas might be creating a new health hazard.
The study, thought to be the first to assess levels of a nicotine byproduct known as cotinine in nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors, found levels up to 162 percent greater than in the control group. The results appear in the November issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.
“Indoor smoking bans have helped to create more of these outdoor environments where people are exposed to secondhand smoke,” said study co-author Luke Naeher, associate professor in the UGA College of Public Health. “We know from our previous study that there are measurable airborne levels of secondhand smoke in these environments, and we know from this study that we can measure internal exposure.
“Secondhand smoke contains several known carcinogens and the current thinking is that there is no safe level of exposure,” he added. “So the levels that we are seeing are a potential public health issue.”
Athens-Clarke County, Ga., enacted an indoor smoking ban in 2005, providing Naeher and his colleagues and ideal environment for their study. The team recruited 20 non-smoking adults and placed them in one of three environments: outside bars, outside restaurants and, for the control group, outside the UGA main library. Immediately before and after the six-hour study period, the volunteers gave a saliva sample that was tested for levels of cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine and a commonly used marker of tobacco exposure.
The team found an average increase in cotinine of 162 percent for the volunteers stationed at outdoor seating and standing areas at bars, a 102 percent increase for those outside of restaurants and a 16 percent increase for the control group near the library.
Naeher acknowledges that an exposure of six-hours is greater than what an average patron would experience but said that employees can be exposed for even longer periods.
“Anyone who works in that environment—waitresses, waiters or bouncers—may be there for up to six hours or longer,” Naeher said. “Across the country, a large number of people are occupationally exposed to second-hand smoke in this way.”
Studies that measured health outcomes following indoor smoking bans have credited the bans with lowering rates of heart attacks and respiratory illness, but Naeher said that the health impacts of outdoor second-hand smoke are still unknown.
In Naeher’s study, cotinine levels in the volunteers at the bar setting saw their levels increase from an average pre-exposure level of 0.069 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter) to an average post-exposure level of 0.182 ng/ml. The maximum value observed, however, was 0.959 ng/ml. To put that number into context, a widely cited study has determined that an average cotinine level of 0.4 ng/ml increases lung cancer deaths by 1 for every 1,000 people and increases heart disease deaths by 1 for every 100 people.
Still, the researchers caution that it’s too early to draw policy conclusions from their findings. Cotinine is a marker of exposure to tobacco, Naeher said, but is not a carcinogen. The team is currently planning a study that would measure levels of a molecule known as NNAL, which is a marker of tobacco exposure and a known carcinogen, in people exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors.
“Our study suggests that there is reason to be concerned about second-hand smoke levels outdoors,” said study co-author Gideon St. Helen, who is pursuing his Ph.D. through the university’s Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, “and our findings are an incentive for us to do further studies to see what the effects of those levels are.”
The study was funded by the Northeast (Georgia) Health District, the Athens (Georgia) Community Wellness Council and the Athens Tobacco Prevention Coalition.
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The study, thought to be the first to assess levels of a nicotine byproduct known as cotinine in nonsmokers exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors, found levels up to 162 percent greater than in the control group. The results appear in the November issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.
“Indoor smoking bans have helped to create more of these outdoor environments where people are exposed to secondhand smoke,” said study co-author Luke Naeher, associate professor in the UGA College of Public Health. “We know from our previous study that there are measurable airborne levels of secondhand smoke in these environments, and we know from this study that we can measure internal exposure.
“Secondhand smoke contains several known carcinogens and the current thinking is that there is no safe level of exposure,” he added. “So the levels that we are seeing are a potential public health issue.”
Athens-Clarke County, Ga., enacted an indoor smoking ban in 2005, providing Naeher and his colleagues and ideal environment for their study. The team recruited 20 non-smoking adults and placed them in one of three environments: outside bars, outside restaurants and, for the control group, outside the UGA main library. Immediately before and after the six-hour study period, the volunteers gave a saliva sample that was tested for levels of cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine and a commonly used marker of tobacco exposure.
The team found an average increase in cotinine of 162 percent for the volunteers stationed at outdoor seating and standing areas at bars, a 102 percent increase for those outside of restaurants and a 16 percent increase for the control group near the library.
Naeher acknowledges that an exposure of six-hours is greater than what an average patron would experience but said that employees can be exposed for even longer periods.
“Anyone who works in that environment—waitresses, waiters or bouncers—may be there for up to six hours or longer,” Naeher said. “Across the country, a large number of people are occupationally exposed to second-hand smoke in this way.”
Studies that measured health outcomes following indoor smoking bans have credited the bans with lowering rates of heart attacks and respiratory illness, but Naeher said that the health impacts of outdoor second-hand smoke are still unknown.
In Naeher’s study, cotinine levels in the volunteers at the bar setting saw their levels increase from an average pre-exposure level of 0.069 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter) to an average post-exposure level of 0.182 ng/ml. The maximum value observed, however, was 0.959 ng/ml. To put that number into context, a widely cited study has determined that an average cotinine level of 0.4 ng/ml increases lung cancer deaths by 1 for every 1,000 people and increases heart disease deaths by 1 for every 100 people.
Still, the researchers caution that it’s too early to draw policy conclusions from their findings. Cotinine is a marker of exposure to tobacco, Naeher said, but is not a carcinogen. The team is currently planning a study that would measure levels of a molecule known as NNAL, which is a marker of tobacco exposure and a known carcinogen, in people exposed to second-hand smoke outdoors.
“Our study suggests that there is reason to be concerned about second-hand smoke levels outdoors,” said study co-author Gideon St. Helen, who is pursuing his Ph.D. through the university’s Interdisciplinary Toxicology Program, “and our findings are an incentive for us to do further studies to see what the effects of those levels are.”
The study was funded by the Northeast (Georgia) Health District, the Athens (Georgia) Community Wellness Council and the Athens Tobacco Prevention Coalition.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Smoking Causes Blindness
/PRNewswire/ -- AMD Alliance International strongly urges all smokers to participate in the Great American Smokeout on November 19 to save their eyes and protect their vision from the debilitating effects of macular degeneration.
Research has demonstrated that age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a progressive disease that causes the loss of central vision, is two to three times as frequent among tobacco smokers, and the risk is dose dependent(1, 2). In other words, the more you smoke, the greater the risk and the faster the progression of the disease. For patients with certain genetic backgrounds, regular heavy smoking can increase the risk of AMD a stunning 144-fold(3).
AMD is the leading cause of blindness among those older than 50.
"We salute the American Cancer Society and its efforts on behalf of the Great American Smokeout," said David Herman, Chairman of the global AMD Alliance International. "And we add vision loss to the list of significant and debilitating health risks that are caused by smoking. If you quit today, you can immediately begin lowering your risk of losing your sight to macular degeneration."
In addition to quitting smoking and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle, AMD Alliance International recommends regular visits to the eye doctor to check for onset of macular degeneration.
For more information about how to prevent, treat and manage AMD, please visit AMD Alliance International at www.amdalliance.org.
Notes:
1) Seddon JM et al. A prospective study of cigarette smoking and age-related macular degeneration in women. JAMA 1996 Oct 9 276 1141-1146.
2) Christen WG et al. A prospective study of cigarette smoking and risk of age-related macular degeneration in men. JAMA 1996 Oct 9 276 1147-1151.
3) DeAngelis, Margaret M. et al. Cigarette Smoking, CFH, APOE, ELOVL4, and Risk of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Archives of Ophthalmology January 2007 125 49-54.
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Research has demonstrated that age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a progressive disease that causes the loss of central vision, is two to three times as frequent among tobacco smokers, and the risk is dose dependent(1, 2). In other words, the more you smoke, the greater the risk and the faster the progression of the disease. For patients with certain genetic backgrounds, regular heavy smoking can increase the risk of AMD a stunning 144-fold(3).
AMD is the leading cause of blindness among those older than 50.
"We salute the American Cancer Society and its efforts on behalf of the Great American Smokeout," said David Herman, Chairman of the global AMD Alliance International. "And we add vision loss to the list of significant and debilitating health risks that are caused by smoking. If you quit today, you can immediately begin lowering your risk of losing your sight to macular degeneration."
In addition to quitting smoking and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle, AMD Alliance International recommends regular visits to the eye doctor to check for onset of macular degeneration.
For more information about how to prevent, treat and manage AMD, please visit AMD Alliance International at www.amdalliance.org.
Notes:
1) Seddon JM et al. A prospective study of cigarette smoking and age-related macular degeneration in women. JAMA 1996 Oct 9 276 1141-1146.
2) Christen WG et al. A prospective study of cigarette smoking and risk of age-related macular degeneration in men. JAMA 1996 Oct 9 276 1147-1151.
3) DeAngelis, Margaret M. et al. Cigarette Smoking, CFH, APOE, ELOVL4, and Risk of Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Archives of Ophthalmology January 2007 125 49-54.
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Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Most Smokers Make Multiple Quit Attempts Before They Quit Smoking for Good
/PRNewswire/ -- The American Lung Association is launching a new smoking cessation campaign, "Quitter in You," designed to highlight the need to change the way Americans look at quitting. A new survey from the organization found that 6 out of 10 former smokers were not able to successfully quit on their first try and required multiple attempts to quit smoking for good.
Anyone who has tried to quit smoking knows it does not always happen on the first try. But what many smokers don't realize is that they are not alone in their failed quit attempts. The Quitter in You campaign acknowledges that multiple quit attempts are normal and are necessary steps along the way to quitting for good.
"This new research shows that most people aren't successful the first time they try to quit smoking," said American Lung Association President and CEO Charles D. Connor. "But each time you try, you learn a little more about the quitter in you. You become a little wiser about what to do and not do the next time. With each attempt, the American Lung Association is here to provide expert support and proven resources that have helped more than one million people quit smoking for good."
The campaign features a new Web site called quitterinyou.org, public service announcements, and a wealth of personalized tools and support from the American Lung Association's "Freedom From Smoking" program to help smokers at each step in the journey toward quitting. Working through traditional and non traditional partners, the campaign is launching this fall in five pilot cities (Harrisburg, Pa.; Richmond, Va.; St. Louis, Mo.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Tucson, Ariz.) and will be expanded in coming months through local American Lung Associations across the country.
Unsuccessful attempts to quit can leave smokers feeling alienated and discouraged. Health care professionals - often the source of information and support - understand this and recognize the need to support their patients' quit attempts. A companion survey among health care providers found that nearly 100 percent think it takes multiple attempts for the average person to quit smoking. A quit attempt is defined as not smoking for at least one day with the intent of not starting again.
The Quitter in You campaign is made possible though funding from Pfizer Inc. "Stopping smoking is a goal for our society to work toward, one accomplished through each smoker's courage to quit," said Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, Pfizer's chief medical officer. "The American Lung Association is working to provide greater support for people who want to quit. We're proud to support its efforts."
Helping more Americans quit smoking remains a top public health priority for the American Lung Association. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 43 million American adults are current smokers. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 443,000 lives each year, including those affected indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking and victims of "secondhand" exposure to tobacco's carcinogens. Smoking cost the United States over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,446 per adult smoker.
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Arts Across Georgia
Anyone who has tried to quit smoking knows it does not always happen on the first try. But what many smokers don't realize is that they are not alone in their failed quit attempts. The Quitter in You campaign acknowledges that multiple quit attempts are normal and are necessary steps along the way to quitting for good.
"This new research shows that most people aren't successful the first time they try to quit smoking," said American Lung Association President and CEO Charles D. Connor. "But each time you try, you learn a little more about the quitter in you. You become a little wiser about what to do and not do the next time. With each attempt, the American Lung Association is here to provide expert support and proven resources that have helped more than one million people quit smoking for good."
The campaign features a new Web site called quitterinyou.org, public service announcements, and a wealth of personalized tools and support from the American Lung Association's "Freedom From Smoking" program to help smokers at each step in the journey toward quitting. Working through traditional and non traditional partners, the campaign is launching this fall in five pilot cities (Harrisburg, Pa.; Richmond, Va.; St. Louis, Mo.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Tucson, Ariz.) and will be expanded in coming months through local American Lung Associations across the country.
Unsuccessful attempts to quit can leave smokers feeling alienated and discouraged. Health care professionals - often the source of information and support - understand this and recognize the need to support their patients' quit attempts. A companion survey among health care providers found that nearly 100 percent think it takes multiple attempts for the average person to quit smoking. A quit attempt is defined as not smoking for at least one day with the intent of not starting again.
The Quitter in You campaign is made possible though funding from Pfizer Inc. "Stopping smoking is a goal for our society to work toward, one accomplished through each smoker's courage to quit," said Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, Pfizer's chief medical officer. "The American Lung Association is working to provide greater support for people who want to quit. We're proud to support its efforts."
Helping more Americans quit smoking remains a top public health priority for the American Lung Association. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 43 million American adults are current smokers. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 443,000 lives each year, including those affected indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking and victims of "secondhand" exposure to tobacco's carcinogens. Smoking cost the United States over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,446 per adult smoker.
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
CASA* 2009 Teen Survey Reveals: Teens Likelier To Get Drunk, Use Marijuana, Smoke Cigarettes If They See Parent Drunk
/PRNewswire/ -- Compared to teens who have not seen their parent(s) drunk, those who have are more than twice as likely to get drunk in a typical month, and three times likelier to use marijuana and smoke cigarettes, according to the National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents, the 14th annual back-to-school survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
The CASA survey found that 51 percent of 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk and 34 percent of 12- to 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk.
Teen drinking behavior is strongly associated with how teens believe their fathers feel about their drinking. Compared to teens who believe their father is against their drinking, teens who believe their father is okay with their drinking are two and a half times likelier to get drunk in a typical month.
The survey found that five percent of 12- to 15-year old girls and nine percent of 12- to 15-year old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking. Thirteen percent of 16- and 17-year old girls and 20 percent of 16- and 17-year old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking.
"Some Moms' and Dads' behavior and attitudes make them parent enablers--parents who send their 12- to 17-year olds a message that it's okay to smoke, drink, get drunk and use illegal drugs like marijuana," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman and founder and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. "Teens' behavior is strongly associated with their parents' behavior and expectations, so parents who expect their children to drink and use drugs will have children who drink and use drugs."
Prescription Drugs Readily Available
For the first time this year, the survey asked 12- to 17-year olds how fast they can get prescription drugs to get high. More than one third of teens (8.7 million) can get prescription drugs to get high within a day; nearly one in five teens (4.7 million) can get them within an hour.
When teens were asked where they would get prescription drugs, the most common sources were home, parents, other family members and friends.
For the second year in a row more teens said prescription drugs were easier to buy than beer.
Drinking, Drugging and Sex
This year the CASA survey took a close look at teen drinking and discovered that 65 percent of 12- to 17-year olds who drink monthly report that they get drunk at least once in a typical month. Eighty-five percent of 17-year old drinkers get drunk at least once in a typical month.
The survey found that one third of teen drinkers usually drink with the intention to get drunk. Eighty-five percent of teen drinkers who say that when they drink they usually drink to get drunk do so at least once a month. Of those teens who do NOT set out to get drunk, 33 percent find themselves drunk at least once a month.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, teens who get drunk monthly are:
-- 18 times likelier to have tried marijuana;
-- Four times likelier to be able to get marijuana in an hour;
-- Almost four times likelier to know someone their age who abuses
prescription drugs;
-- More than three times likelier to have friends who use marijuana; and
-- More than twice as likely to know someone their age who uses meth,
ecstasy, or other drugs such as cocaine, heroin or LSD.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, those who get drunk at least once a month are:
-- Twice as likely to know a girl who was forced to do something sexual
she didn't want to do; and
-- Nearly four times likelier to know a guy who uses drugs or alcohol to
hook up.
"The message for parents is loud and clear. If your teen is drinking, the odds are your teen is getting drunk. And teens who get drunk are much likelier to try marijuana and hang out with friends who are abusing prescription drugs and illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin," said Elizabeth Planet, CASA's Vice President and Director of Special Projects. "Parents who think their kids are just having an occasional drink each month need to wake up and smell the beer and pot."
Marijuana, Availability Up Sharply
Between 2007 and 2009 there was a 37 percent increase in the percentage of 12- to 17-year olds who say marijuana is easier to buy than cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs (19 percent to 26 percent).
Forty percent of teens (10 million) can get marijuana within a day; nearly one-quarter of teens (5.7 million) can get it in an hour.
Teens who say that the decision to use marijuana by someone their age is not a big deal are four times more likely to use it compared to teens who say this decision is a big deal.
Teens whose parents believe the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal are almost twice as likely to use the drug, compared to teens whose parents say this decision is a big deal.
Most teens who smoke cigarettes (56 percent) say the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal.
Other Notable Findings
-- Two-thirds of high school students say that drugs are used, kept or
sold at their school.
-- Sixty percent of parents say that their child's school is not drug
free.
-- Of parents who say their teen's school is not drug free, almost half
think there is nothing they can do about it, and only a quarter have
even tried.
"Parents are the key to raising drug-free kids and they have the power to do it if they send their children the clear message to choose not to use and demand that the schools their children attend be drug free," noted Califano whose book How to Raise a Drug Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents, was published this month by Simon & Schuster's Touchstone/Fireside Division.
QEV Analytics conducted The National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents from March 2 to April 5, 2009 (teens) and March 21 to April 10, 2009 (parents). The firm interviewed at home by telephone a national random sample of 1,000 12- to 17-year olds (509 boys, 491 girls) and 452 of their parents. Sampling error is +/- 3.1 percent for teens and +/- 4.6 percent for parents.
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The CASA survey found that 51 percent of 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk and 34 percent of 12- to 17-year olds have seen one or both of their parents drunk.
Teen drinking behavior is strongly associated with how teens believe their fathers feel about their drinking. Compared to teens who believe their father is against their drinking, teens who believe their father is okay with their drinking are two and a half times likelier to get drunk in a typical month.
The survey found that five percent of 12- to 15-year old girls and nine percent of 12- to 15-year old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking. Thirteen percent of 16- and 17-year old girls and 20 percent of 16- and 17-year old boys say their fathers are okay with their drinking.
"Some Moms' and Dads' behavior and attitudes make them parent enablers--parents who send their 12- to 17-year olds a message that it's okay to smoke, drink, get drunk and use illegal drugs like marijuana," said Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA's chairman and founder and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. "Teens' behavior is strongly associated with their parents' behavior and expectations, so parents who expect their children to drink and use drugs will have children who drink and use drugs."
Prescription Drugs Readily Available
For the first time this year, the survey asked 12- to 17-year olds how fast they can get prescription drugs to get high. More than one third of teens (8.7 million) can get prescription drugs to get high within a day; nearly one in five teens (4.7 million) can get them within an hour.
When teens were asked where they would get prescription drugs, the most common sources were home, parents, other family members and friends.
For the second year in a row more teens said prescription drugs were easier to buy than beer.
Drinking, Drugging and Sex
This year the CASA survey took a close look at teen drinking and discovered that 65 percent of 12- to 17-year olds who drink monthly report that they get drunk at least once in a typical month. Eighty-five percent of 17-year old drinkers get drunk at least once in a typical month.
The survey found that one third of teen drinkers usually drink with the intention to get drunk. Eighty-five percent of teen drinkers who say that when they drink they usually drink to get drunk do so at least once a month. Of those teens who do NOT set out to get drunk, 33 percent find themselves drunk at least once a month.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, teens who get drunk monthly are:
-- 18 times likelier to have tried marijuana;
-- Four times likelier to be able to get marijuana in an hour;
-- Almost four times likelier to know someone their age who abuses
prescription drugs;
-- More than three times likelier to have friends who use marijuana; and
-- More than twice as likely to know someone their age who uses meth,
ecstasy, or other drugs such as cocaine, heroin or LSD.
Compared to teens who have never tried alcohol, those who get drunk at least once a month are:
-- Twice as likely to know a girl who was forced to do something sexual
she didn't want to do; and
-- Nearly four times likelier to know a guy who uses drugs or alcohol to
hook up.
"The message for parents is loud and clear. If your teen is drinking, the odds are your teen is getting drunk. And teens who get drunk are much likelier to try marijuana and hang out with friends who are abusing prescription drugs and illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin," said Elizabeth Planet, CASA's Vice President and Director of Special Projects. "Parents who think their kids are just having an occasional drink each month need to wake up and smell the beer and pot."
Marijuana, Availability Up Sharply
Between 2007 and 2009 there was a 37 percent increase in the percentage of 12- to 17-year olds who say marijuana is easier to buy than cigarettes, beer or prescription drugs (19 percent to 26 percent).
Forty percent of teens (10 million) can get marijuana within a day; nearly one-quarter of teens (5.7 million) can get it in an hour.
Teens who say that the decision to use marijuana by someone their age is not a big deal are four times more likely to use it compared to teens who say this decision is a big deal.
Teens whose parents believe the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal are almost twice as likely to use the drug, compared to teens whose parents say this decision is a big deal.
Most teens who smoke cigarettes (56 percent) say the decision to use marijuana is not a big deal.
Other Notable Findings
-- Two-thirds of high school students say that drugs are used, kept or
sold at their school.
-- Sixty percent of parents say that their child's school is not drug
free.
-- Of parents who say their teen's school is not drug free, almost half
think there is nothing they can do about it, and only a quarter have
even tried.
"Parents are the key to raising drug-free kids and they have the power to do it if they send their children the clear message to choose not to use and demand that the schools their children attend be drug free," noted Califano whose book How to Raise a Drug Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents, was published this month by Simon & Schuster's Touchstone/Fireside Division.
QEV Analytics conducted The National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XIV: Teens and Parents from March 2 to April 5, 2009 (teens) and March 21 to April 10, 2009 (parents). The firm interviewed at home by telephone a national random sample of 1,000 12- to 17-year olds (509 boys, 491 girls) and 452 of their parents. Sampling error is +/- 3.1 percent for teens and +/- 4.6 percent for parents.
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Monday, August 03, 2009
Electronic Cigarette Company (eCigarettesChoice.com) Claims FDA Study Proves E-Cigarettes Are Safer Than Tobacco Cigarettes
TT Note: While I don't smoke, I have still been following this issue. My dad was a smoker and I wonder if he would have tried the electronic cigarette. What I don't have to wonder about is the lack of evidence the FDA presented in their recent release on the safety of cigarettes. Their report did seem a bit skewed in the direction of tobacco.
I had planned to ask a smoker what they thought about this whole debate, but they are hard to find in my area.
/24-7/ -- The study by the FDA released July 22, 2009 may actually prove what e-cigarette aficionados have been shouting on the rooftops from day one: that electronic cigarettes are actually much safer than tobacco cigarettes. Within the last year at least three independent labs have given the green light to electronic cigarettes and the FDA pretends they do not exist.
In the recent FDA study, trace amounts of tobacco-specific nitrosamines and tobacco specific impurities were reportedly found in a limited test of two brands of e-cigarettes. Nitrosamines may also be found in consumer foods such bacon and beer. Trace amounts of carcinogens may also be found in nicotine replacement products such as NicoDerm CQ and Nicorette gum which are FDA approved. The list of hazardous chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes is somewhere around 4,000 according to the CDC
The FDA claimed their analysis detected diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze which is toxic to humans was present in only one of the samples. They failed to qualify at what level is it harmful or how much was in the sample. This misleads the public to believe that antifreeze is in their e-cigarettes. Diethylene glycol is not an ingredient used to make electronic cigarettes and how it came to be in the sample should raise an eyebrow. But the FDA sounded an alarm even though the test was done months before.
With as many toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke in comparison to electronic cigarettes, the alarm the FDA is sounding about a less hazardous product is both suspicious and negligent. One might be left to believe that the real FDA agenda may not be to protect the publics' health, but to aggressively protect the bottom line of the makers of smoking cessation products as well as the loss of tax revenue from the sale of tobacco cigarettes. The pressure the FDA is under from health groups and special interest groups is certainly noticeable. It is public record where these organizations receive their funding from and to who they owe their allegiance.
"In effect, the FDA news release was telling the public go smoke tobacco cigarettes, cancer sticks, which are known to kill millions of people while not one death has been recorded as a result of using electronic cigarettes," says Kyle Newton, owner of eCigarettesChoice.com. "It does not make sense." eCigarettesChoice.com is an online Super Store that manufactures the SS Choice No 7 brand along with the new No 7 Stealth electronic cigarette for military use in combat environments. This brand was not part of the FDA test.
The FDA scare resulted in several customers canceling orders. However, on Monday morning they were calling back to order again. "It was educational," says Kyle, "after our customers did their homework, they determined the benefits of the electronic cigarettes far out-weighed the risks. Almost everything consumers come in contact with has traces of hazardous chemicals. Nothing is 100% safe. I lost my mom, who was a smoker, to cancer in 2005, so we do our best to protect our customers and our reputation.
Several prominent doctors and tobacco researchers, including Dr. Michael Siegel at the Boston University School of Public Health, Dr. Joel Nitzkin of the AAPHP Tobacco Control Task Force, and Dr. Brad Rodu, Endowed Chair, Tobacco Harm Reduction Research University of Louisville, has chastised the FDA and requested that they justify their warning about electronic cigarettes with qualified scientific proof.
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I had planned to ask a smoker what they thought about this whole debate, but they are hard to find in my area.
/24-7/ -- The study by the FDA released July 22, 2009 may actually prove what e-cigarette aficionados have been shouting on the rooftops from day one: that electronic cigarettes are actually much safer than tobacco cigarettes. Within the last year at least three independent labs have given the green light to electronic cigarettes and the FDA pretends they do not exist.
In the recent FDA study, trace amounts of tobacco-specific nitrosamines and tobacco specific impurities were reportedly found in a limited test of two brands of e-cigarettes. Nitrosamines may also be found in consumer foods such bacon and beer. Trace amounts of carcinogens may also be found in nicotine replacement products such as NicoDerm CQ and Nicorette gum which are FDA approved. The list of hazardous chemicals found in tobacco cigarettes is somewhere around 4,000 according to the CDC
The FDA claimed their analysis detected diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze which is toxic to humans was present in only one of the samples. They failed to qualify at what level is it harmful or how much was in the sample. This misleads the public to believe that antifreeze is in their e-cigarettes. Diethylene glycol is not an ingredient used to make electronic cigarettes and how it came to be in the sample should raise an eyebrow. But the FDA sounded an alarm even though the test was done months before.
With as many toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke in comparison to electronic cigarettes, the alarm the FDA is sounding about a less hazardous product is both suspicious and negligent. One might be left to believe that the real FDA agenda may not be to protect the publics' health, but to aggressively protect the bottom line of the makers of smoking cessation products as well as the loss of tax revenue from the sale of tobacco cigarettes. The pressure the FDA is under from health groups and special interest groups is certainly noticeable. It is public record where these organizations receive their funding from and to who they owe their allegiance.
"In effect, the FDA news release was telling the public go smoke tobacco cigarettes, cancer sticks, which are known to kill millions of people while not one death has been recorded as a result of using electronic cigarettes," says Kyle Newton, owner of eCigarettesChoice.com. "It does not make sense." eCigarettesChoice.com is an online Super Store that manufactures the SS Choice No 7 brand along with the new No 7 Stealth electronic cigarette for military use in combat environments. This brand was not part of the FDA test.
The FDA scare resulted in several customers canceling orders. However, on Monday morning they were calling back to order again. "It was educational," says Kyle, "after our customers did their homework, they determined the benefits of the electronic cigarettes far out-weighed the risks. Almost everything consumers come in contact with has traces of hazardous chemicals. Nothing is 100% safe. I lost my mom, who was a smoker, to cancer in 2005, so we do our best to protect our customers and our reputation.
Several prominent doctors and tobacco researchers, including Dr. Michael Siegel at the Boston University School of Public Health, Dr. Joel Nitzkin of the AAPHP Tobacco Control Task Force, and Dr. Brad Rodu, Endowed Chair, Tobacco Harm Reduction Research University of Louisville, has chastised the FDA and requested that they justify their warning about electronic cigarettes with qualified scientific proof.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008
National Report Ranks Georgia 50th in Protecting Kids from Tobacco
TT Note: Where do the kids smoke? So many areas are smoke free these days and I have to admit I like the fresher air. Maybe Georgia should consider collecting two dollars from the tobacco companies for every dollar the companies spend in advertising in the state. Perhaps convenience stores will have to tighten their own rules and regulations for selling cigarettes to minors. Just a thought.
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ten years after the November 1998 state tobacco settlement, Georgia ranks 50th in the nation in funding programs to protect kids from tobacco, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.
Georgia currently spends $3.2 million a year on tobacco prevention programs, which is 2.7 percent of the $116.5 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Other key findings for Georgia include:
-- The tobacco companies spend more than $444 million a year on marketing
in Georgia. This is 139 times what the state spends on tobacco
prevention.
-- Georgia this year will collect $393 million from the tobacco
settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend less than 1 percent of it
on tobacco prevention.
The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Decade of Broken Promises," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
"Georgia is one of the most disappointing states when it comes to funding programs to protect kids from tobacco," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "On this 10th anniversary of the tobacco settlement, we call on Georgia's leaders to raise the state cigarette tax and use some of the new revenue to increase funding for tobacco prevention. Tobacco prevention is a smart investment that reduces smoking, saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."
Georgia's current cigarette tax of 37 cents per pack is 43rd in the nation and well below the national average of $1.19 per pack. Scientific studies have found that increasing cigarette prices is one of the most effective ways to prevent kids from smoking and encourage smokers to quit.
On Nov. 23, 1998, 46 states settled their lawsuits against the nation's major tobacco companies to recover tobacco-related health care costs, joining four states (Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Minnesota) that had reached earlier settlements. These settlements require the tobacco companies to make annual payments to the states in perpetuity, with total payments estimated at $246 billion over the first 25 years. The states also collect billions of dollars each year in tobacco taxes.
The new report finds that most states have broken their promise to use a significant portion of their tobacco money to fund programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
According to the report, the states in the last 10 years have received $203.5 billion in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes. But they have spent only 3.2 percent of this tobacco money - $6.5 billion - on tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
Other findings of the report include:
-- In the current year, no state is funding tobacco prevention at
CDC-recommended levels, and only nine states fund their programs at
even half of the CDC recommendation.
-- 41 states and the District of Columbia are funding tobacco prevention
programs at less than half the CDC-recommended amount. These include
27 states that are providing less than a quarter of the recommended
funding.
-- Total funding for state tobacco prevention programs this year, $718.1
million, amounts to less than three percent of the $24.6 billion the
states will collect from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes. It
would take just 15 percent of this tobacco revenue to fund tobacco
prevention programs in every state at CDC-recommended levels.
The report warns that the nation faces two immediate challenges in the fight against tobacco use: complacency and looming state budget shortfalls. First, while the nation has made significant progress over the past decade in reducing smoking, progress has slowed and further progress is at risk without aggressive efforts at all levels of government. Second, the states are expected to face budget shortfalls in the coming year as a result of the weak economy. The last time the states faced significant budget shortfalls, they cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by 28 percent between 2002 and 2005. The cutbacks are a major reason why smoking declines subsequently stalled, and states should not make the same mistake again.
The report found that there is more evidence than ever that tobacco prevention programs work to reduce smoking, save lives and save money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs. Washington State, which has been a national leader in funding tobacco prevention, has reduced smoking by 60 percent among sixth graders and by 43 percent among 12th graders since the late 1990s. A recent study found that California's tobacco control program saved $86 billion in health care costs in its first 15 years, compared to $1.8 billion spent on the program, for a return on investment of nearly 50:1.
In Georgia, 18.6 percent of high school students smoke, and 11,300 more kids become regular smokers every year. Each year, tobacco claims 10,300 lives and costs the state $2.25 billion in health care bills.
-----
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Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ten years after the November 1998 state tobacco settlement, Georgia ranks 50th in the nation in funding programs to protect kids from tobacco, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.
Georgia currently spends $3.2 million a year on tobacco prevention programs, which is 2.7 percent of the $116.5 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Other key findings for Georgia include:
-- The tobacco companies spend more than $444 million a year on marketing
in Georgia. This is 139 times what the state spends on tobacco
prevention.
-- Georgia this year will collect $393 million from the tobacco
settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend less than 1 percent of it
on tobacco prevention.
The annual report on states' funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled "A Decade of Broken Promises," was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
"Georgia is one of the most disappointing states when it comes to funding programs to protect kids from tobacco," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "On this 10th anniversary of the tobacco settlement, we call on Georgia's leaders to raise the state cigarette tax and use some of the new revenue to increase funding for tobacco prevention. Tobacco prevention is a smart investment that reduces smoking, saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs."
Georgia's current cigarette tax of 37 cents per pack is 43rd in the nation and well below the national average of $1.19 per pack. Scientific studies have found that increasing cigarette prices is one of the most effective ways to prevent kids from smoking and encourage smokers to quit.
On Nov. 23, 1998, 46 states settled their lawsuits against the nation's major tobacco companies to recover tobacco-related health care costs, joining four states (Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Minnesota) that had reached earlier settlements. These settlements require the tobacco companies to make annual payments to the states in perpetuity, with total payments estimated at $246 billion over the first 25 years. The states also collect billions of dollars each year in tobacco taxes.
The new report finds that most states have broken their promise to use a significant portion of their tobacco money to fund programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.
According to the report, the states in the last 10 years have received $203.5 billion in revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes. But they have spent only 3.2 percent of this tobacco money - $6.5 billion - on tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
Other findings of the report include:
-- In the current year, no state is funding tobacco prevention at
CDC-recommended levels, and only nine states fund their programs at
even half of the CDC recommendation.
-- 41 states and the District of Columbia are funding tobacco prevention
programs at less than half the CDC-recommended amount. These include
27 states that are providing less than a quarter of the recommended
funding.
-- Total funding for state tobacco prevention programs this year, $718.1
million, amounts to less than three percent of the $24.6 billion the
states will collect from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes. It
would take just 15 percent of this tobacco revenue to fund tobacco
prevention programs in every state at CDC-recommended levels.
The report warns that the nation faces two immediate challenges in the fight against tobacco use: complacency and looming state budget shortfalls. First, while the nation has made significant progress over the past decade in reducing smoking, progress has slowed and further progress is at risk without aggressive efforts at all levels of government. Second, the states are expected to face budget shortfalls in the coming year as a result of the weak economy. The last time the states faced significant budget shortfalls, they cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by 28 percent between 2002 and 2005. The cutbacks are a major reason why smoking declines subsequently stalled, and states should not make the same mistake again.
The report found that there is more evidence than ever that tobacco prevention programs work to reduce smoking, save lives and save money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs. Washington State, which has been a national leader in funding tobacco prevention, has reduced smoking by 60 percent among sixth graders and by 43 percent among 12th graders since the late 1990s. A recent study found that California's tobacco control program saved $86 billion in health care costs in its first 15 years, compared to $1.8 billion spent on the program, for a return on investment of nearly 50:1.
In Georgia, 18.6 percent of high school students smoke, and 11,300 more kids become regular smokers every year. Each year, tobacco claims 10,300 lives and costs the state $2.25 billion in health care bills.
-----
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Fayette Front Page
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Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
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