National Working Group for ACTTION

Jan 26, 2010
Letter from Diane Canova

Dear Partners,

 

Improvements in health care come in many forms and require efforts from many sources.  Cessation of tobacco use is a proven way to improve health right now and for years to come.  We know that comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment is effective.  That is why many of you came together a year ago to issue the Call for ACTTION.  Now, as issues related to health care are much in the public view, it is vitally important to continue building a strong commitment to the goal of the Call for ACTTION and to the measures that will make its achievement a reality.

Jan 26, 2010
Partnership for Prevention Announces the ACTTION State Grant Program Request for Proposals

This month Partnership for Prevention announced its newest effort in the fight against tobacco addiction. Called the ACTTION State Grant Program, the initiative will provide funds to select States to increase access to proven cessation strategies for all tobacco users. Grantees will be required to develop state alliances/summit meetings and create strategic plans. Specifically, key sector leaders in funded states representing health care systems, employers/purchasers, insurers/health plans, quitlines, and tobacco control advocates will convene to set a course of action for change. As a result, utilization of these treatments will increase and tobacco use will decline.

Jan 26, 2010
Indiana Leads First State ACTTION Summit

In early December, the first state ACTTION summit was held in Indianapolis.  Led by Dr. Judy Monroe, Indiana Health Commissioner and Karla Sneegas, Executive Director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, the Indiana Cessation Summit drew 79 attendees from around the state.  The group identified a list of strategies to increase cessation in Indiana with an emphasis on those which were low and no cost.  The areas of focus were business and industry, policy change, electronic and internet solutions, health care provider education, quitline promotion, and patient and community education.

ACTTION interviewed Karla Sneegas (KS) after the summit to learn about the process involved in planning a successful summit and staying the course afterwards.

Jan 26, 2010
Cessation Services in the States

The most extensive tobacco control programs in the United States, including cessation services, are provided or regulated by the states. Several recent reports offer a snapshot view of the progress that states are making in directly providing cessation services, paying for them, or assuring that other payers cover them.   The results fall far short of what is needed to reach the goal set by the Call to ACTTION—expand access to comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment to 50% of smokers by 2015, and 100% by 2020.

Jan 26, 2010
FDA Seeks Comments on Misleading Labeling

The Food and Drug Administration is seeking input from the public on a provision in the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act addressing the advertising of tobacco products.  The provision bans the terms light, mild, or low in the labeling or advertising of tobacco products and extends to the use of “similar descriptors.”  To aid the agency in spelling out the meaning of this term “similar descriptors” and developing regulations in anticipation of the June effective date of this important advertising provision, it is asking interested parties to share information, research, and ideas on tobacco product marketing descriptors that may be considered similar to the prohibited terms already listed in the law.

Feb 24, 2010
ACTTION State Grants

Submission deadline for grant proposals.

Feb 24, 2010
Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 16th annual meeting

Hilton Baltimore Hotel, Baltimore, Maryland

http://www.srnt.org/pubs/nl_09_09/index.html

Feb 08, 2010
Tobacco Treatment Specialist Certification. Sponsored by The Breathing Association

Columbus, Ohio

The Tobacco Treatment Specialist Certification Course requires prerequisite training in counseling, social work, nursing, or addictions medicine; prior experience in tobacco dependence treatment; and a rigorous post-test. This course has been designed to meet the national standards being developed by ATTUD – the Association for Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence. Tobacco Treatment TTS courses will be one week long, and offered twice in 2010. After initial certification, TTS-training individuals need continuing education in tobacco-related subjects to retain certification.
http://www.breathingassociation.org/general/healthcare.asp

Feb 14, 2010
Through with Chew Week

Sponsored by Tobacco Free Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of Health.
http://www.throughwithchew.com/

Feb 18, 2010
Great American Spit Out

This is a project of Quit Tobacco—Make Everyone Proud, an educational campaign for the U.S. military, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. Encourages smokeless tobacco users to commit to quit smokeless tobacco. Join our Great American Spit Out on February 18 and say goodbye to smokeless tobacco once and for all. Check out our great resources to get you started.
http://www.ucanquit2.org/facts/gaspo/Default.aspx

Mar 06, 2010
13th Annual Health Education Advocacy Summit

Washington Court Hotel, Washington, DC

13th Annual Health Education Advocacy Summit
Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) In collaboration with the Coalition of National Health Education Organizations
For details, visit: www.healtheducationadvocate.org