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Recent Announcements

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  • Wicomico County's Health Department is sharing success stories from its Smoking Cessation Program, and we have posted the video.
  • MDQuit's Director, Dr. Carlo DiClemente, conducted a workshop on efforts to reduce smoking among mental health and substance abuse clients at the 2012 Tuerk Conference in Baltimore on April 17th.  Learn more about smoking prevalence among people seeking addiction and mental health treatment, best practices for smoking cessation among this population, etc. in his presentation.
  • The U.S. Surgeon General has just released the 31st Surgeon General’s report on tobacco since 1964. This latest report details important new facts about the epidemic of tobacco use among American youth and young adults, including the epidemiology, causes, and health effects of tobacco use and interventions proven to prevent it. Links to the full report and supporting materials are provided here. 
  • The CDC recently launched a new national cessation campaign using real smokers to illustrate the consequences of living with smoking related illnesses.  To learn more about the "Tips from Former Smokers" campaign, go to their website to find stories of former smokers, campaign resources, and featured videos.
  • The American Lung  Association recently launched the tenth State of Tobacco Control report. The 2012 State of Tobacco Control informs about the current policy efforts at the state and federal level.  All 50 States and the District of Columbia are graded based on how current policies are adequately protecting the citizens from tobacco smoke effects. To see where Maryland's current policies and efforts stand see: MARYLAND Report Card.
  • Two weeks ago, the FDA released two draft guidance documents to help fight the tobacco epidemic and help prevent the initiation of tobacco in children. The draft guidance documents implement provisions of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (2009) that will allow the public to be privy to previously unknown information about the chemicals in tobacco products and help prevent misleading marketing about the risks associated with tobacco products.
  • MDQuit's 6th Annual Best Practices Conference was held on January 19th, 2012.

Upcoming Events

Webcast - The Hidden Epidemic: Tobacco Use and Mental Illness

(Kenneth E. Warner Lecture Series at Legacy)
May 31, 2012
12:30 to 2:00 pm, ET

Register at: http://www.legacyforhealth.org/5071.aspx

This May for Mental Health Awareness Month, Legacy will host a special Warner Series Lecture to address a devastating trend in public health.
Research shows that people with mental illness smoke at rates nearly twice as high as the general population (41 percent vs. 22.5 percent, respectively) and nearly half of the cigarettes smoked in the United States are consumed by people with co-occurring psychiatric or addictive disorders. The smoking prevalence rates are even higher (60-80 percent) for those who are diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.
Please join Legacy on World No Tobacco Day for a live-webcasted panel discussion addressing how public health experts can work with the mental health system to curb tobacco use among this population.

Moderator
Judith J. Prochaska, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor in Residence, University of California, San Francisco

Panelists
Chad Morris, PhD
Associate Professor and Director, Behavioral Health & Wellness Program
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Department of Psychiatry

Jill M. Williams, MD
Director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at the Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School, Department of Psychiatry

Marie Verna
Program Support Coordinator, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, University Behavioral HealthCare and a person managing mental illness

 

Maryland Tobacco News

Maryland Tobacco Bill Will Increase Tax on Smokeless Tobacco

The Maryland General Assembly is considering increasing taxes on “little cigars.”  Most cigar shop owners see raising the taxes on their products as a detrimental threat to their businesses and believe they will lose clientele as a result.  Health advocates argue that the main reason for doing this is not to “bring taxes in” but to protect Maryland’s youth from the harmful effects of tobacco use.
• Maryland Kids “Kick Butts”

During "Kick Butts," youngsters encourage their peers to stay away from smoking, and educate peers and their community about tobacco's harmful effects. Kick Butts Day is not only a national event -- it has even spread internationally.  In the state of Maryland, youth in all counties participated in activities such as marching through towns to educate about the dangers of tobacco use, picking up cigarette butt litter, and manning youth-run tables advocating for freedom from messages targeting youth by tobacco companies.
• Maryland Senate Attempts to Outlaw Smoking in Cars Transporting Children

In an attempt to protect children from the effects of second hand smoke, the Maryland Senate passed a bill on March 3, 2012 that would ban smoking in vehicles when transporting a child under 8 years old. If the bill is approved by the House and eventually enacted into law, Maryland would join a number of other states to ban smoking in vehicles when children were inside.  The bill was originally trying to prohibit smoking when children 16 and younger were in the car, however, lawmakers believed that the law would be easier to regulate if children are younger than 8 years old since they are still required to use a car seat up to that age barring any weight or height allowances.

National Tobacco News

Improving Maternal and Fetal Health with Citywide Smoking Bans

A recent study of one Colorado town has demonstrated that bans on public smoking may improve the health of mothers and their fetuses. When compared to another Colorado town of similar size and demographic characterstics, the town that had implemented a ban on smoking in public places showed significant decreases in maternal smoking and preterm birth rates. Similar bans have previously been shown to decrease incidence of myocardial infarctions at the population level, but this is the first evidence that such population-level interventions may improve the health of mothers and their fetuses. You can read more about this study, and others here.
• Update on the HHS/CDC's National Tobacco Education Campaign

The CDC launched the first federally funded national tobacco education campaign and already in its fourth week shows positive indicators of people reaching out to seek help with smoking cessation.  Since the campaign began in March, calls to quitlines have doubled.  The campaign consists of advertisements on television, radio, billboards, online and several other broadcast media that will continue to run for a total of 12 weeks.

 
• Research has Found Smoking to Play a Role in Hip and Knee Replacement Failure

Researchers have recently looked at the effects of smoking on total joint replacement therapy.  Results indicate that smokers are more likely to suffer from new replacement failure than patients who do not smoke. These findings suggest that orthopedic surgeons are good candidates to encourage their patient to quit smoking before their surgery and to follow up with them post surgery to assist in maintaining smoking cessation efforts.