This new report provides surveillance data from 2021, as well as 10-year trends from 2011 through 2021, on behaviors and experiences among high school students in the United States related to health and well-being. Additionally, this year’s report includes data on social determinants of health, such as unstable housing, and protective factors, such as school connectedness and parental monitoring.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched the online Vaping Prevention and Education Resource Center, a free science-based, standards-mapped materials that teachers can use to help their students understand the dangers associated with vaping and nicotine addiction. The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products also developed free materials for parents and teens.
New research shows that more than half of U.S. adults surveyed support policies that prohibit the sale of tobacco products. Researchers surveyed more than 6,400 adults in the U.S. in 2021 and more than 62% of those surveyed said they supported a policy to prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes, and more than 57% said they supported a policy to prohibit the sale of all tobacco products.
Preventing Chronic Disease (February 2, 2023)
This annual report grades state tobacco control laws in 5 areas:
The report also grades the federal government in five different areas. It serves as a blueprint for what each state and the federal government needs to do to eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco use.
Access the report on the ALA’s website here.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated with the National Opinion Research Center at the Univerity of Chicago, and the Rural Health Information Hub to develop the Rural Health Mapping Tool.
The mapping tool provides information on COVID-19 vaccination rates, including data on updated (bivalent) boosters, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and other health and sociodemographic information in communities across the United States.
It integrates several measures of health and prosperity into a single tool, providing a more detailed picture of the well-being of rural communities. With this tool, users can observe the associations between the prosperity of a county and a range of health and other factors, including the leading causes of death, sociodemographic factors, and physical environment.
Features:
By the time Tonya was 16 years old, she was already smoking almost a pack of cigarettes a day. Like many others, she started because she had friends who smoked and pressured her to try it. She continued to smoke for the next 23 years. When issues with her heart first surfaced at age 37, Tonya was smoking around two packs of cigarettes every day.
Her health problems started in the summer of 2006, and in 2010, Tonya was placed on the heart transplant list when her heart’s ability to pump blood dropped to a severely low level. In 2013, Tonya’s doctor inserted a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) inside her chest. The LVAD is a mechanical pump that helped Tonya’s weakened heart continuously move blood through her body. The LVAD was connected to batteries and a controller through a tube that ran outside her body. Tonya carried them with her in a pack worn around her waist.
She quit smoking for good in 2008 with the help of prescription medication but the damage to her health couldn’t be undone. “I wish I had quit sooner,” she said. “I wish I had never picked up a cigarette.” Tonya died in 2022 at the age of 53.
Tonya was very courageous to share her battle with heart disease caused by smoking. Tonya participated in the Tips® campaign to help others quit before they went through a similar health battle. “I wish I had quit sooner,” she said. “I wish I had never picked up a cigarette.”
Quitting tobacco can improve your health. In fact, your heart rate starts to decline in as little as a few minutes, and your risk of a heart attack drops dramatically 1-2 years after quitting. For free help quitting, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit QuitNow.ne.gov.
LEARN MORE ABOUT TONYA’S STORY
Nebraska Tobacco Quitline Training
OPEN NOW | Virtual
TFN is hosting several webinars about Nebraska Tobacco Quitline services and discussing topics like tobacco use in Nebraska, cessation counseling, and cost-free NRT availability. See the event flyer for more details.
Email Kyla.Scott@nebraska.gov to Register
Tobacco Disparities Reframing Project
OPEN NOW | Virtual
The CDC Office on Smoking and Health’s training resource to help the tobacco control community use new evidence-based framing and messaging.
2023 Nebraska Public Health Conference
April 4-5, 2023
Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors (NALHD) is again partnering with UNMC College of Public Health and the Public Health Association of Nebraska (PHAN) to bring you the 2023 Nebraska Public Health Conference.
Both the What to Expect brochure and the Quitline Cessation Resource List have been updated and are available in English and Spanish. The What to Expect brochure walks the participant through the process and informs them what to expect from the Nebraska Tobacco Quitline. The updates include newer services such as online registration, web coaching, and free quit medication as well as reflecting changes from the Medicaid Provider Bulletin 22-06 (released last year on January 21, 2022). The Quitline Cessation Resource List added information about online Quitline services.
February
March
Smoking during pregnancy is an established risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes and health issues for newborns later in life. National birth certificate data on cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes smoked before and during pregnancy first became available in 2016. This data allows for the analysis of maternal cigarette use during pregnancy by numerous maternal and infant characteristics.
From 2016-2021, the percentage of mothers who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy
Accredited courses are now available online, through the Nebraska Tobacco Quitline, for providers looking to receive CME, CNE, or CPE credits.
Every year providers in Nebraska support their patients quitting tobacco by referring them to the Quitline. The courses offered help providers discuss how cessation can increase quit success and reduce the risks associated with tobacco use, including vaping.
Several courses are offered and cover a variety of topics, such as Tobacco Use Disparities for People with Behavioral Health Conditions, Myths About Quitting, Vaping and E-Cigarette Devices, and more. Additionally, providers can refer patients using the new online web referral option or the updated fax referral form. Go online to access tools, resources, and education modules, plus the web and fax referrals for providers ready to help patients quit, at QuitNow.ne.gov/providers.
Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit QuitNow.ne.gov to reach a trained quit coach, get access to free quit-smoking medication, and make a plan to quit tobacco for good.
Comments