Break Free Alliance

Higher Smoking Rates among People with Disabilities Lead to Major Health Risks

breakfreealliance — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 21:53:22 +0000

Higher Smoking Rates among People with Disabilities Lead to Major Health Risks.

ATCA conference Nome, AK

maryellener — Sun, 06 May 2012 05:34:10 +0000

As I shared in my intro post, I work with a youth advocacy group in Nenana, AK. This last week I attended the ATCA Summit youth track in Nome, AK. I was able to take three local youth with me. Once again, I ran into Gustavo Torrez He suggested I share with you about this awesome summit.

I did not attend much of the adult part of the summit, but the part I did inspired me to continue my part of the work for a smoke-free Alaska.

Lance Johnson from Nome has done many powerful things in Nome in the past. He shared during lunch on Wednesday some of the things that made an impact on Nome. One of the projects they had worked on it Nome was the “50 Reasons to be Tobacco Free” campaign. They had 50 locals share why they did not use tobacco. Each was featured on their own flyer.

About 15 youth attended the youth track of the summit. During this time, they worked on activities to remind them not to lose themselves in their work as they fight for a smoke free Alaska. They also learned how to create media in many forms from radio to video. There was additionally peer-to-peer training.

The Peninsula TATU shared a curriculum they had created for teaching elementary to junior high the dangers of tobacco use. Many of the youth who attended expressed how much they liked the info shared and said they were going to steal what they learned with their own communities. It was so great to see them inspired so!

The youth shared such passion for the work they do in the youth panel that was featured on the last day of the summit. This was a break out for the adults of the summit. They shared their reasons why they do this work and inspired us all to continue the good fight for a “SMOKE-FREE ALASKA”.

Follow up to Promising Practices

maryellener — Sun, 06 May 2012 04:57:15 +0000

Sorry it took so long for me to post anything about the New Orleans conference. The last few weeks have been full for me. I attended many helpful sessions while in New Orleans. One of those I found quite useful was on social media. During this breakout, they shared many valuable sites. They included www.yelp.com, which is a site for recommendations for shopping, restaurants, and such. Another was www.linkedin.com this site is for professional networking.

During this session, they also shared some helpful tools. One of those was www.hootsuite.com, which is a tool for managing social sites. It looks like one of those sites that could help us all when it comes to managing our time and entering the world of social networking. I am sure many of you are like me and have limited time to get everything done. This tool should prove to be very helpful for scheduling future posting and for posting to multiple sites at one time.

If you are looking into creating TVcommercials you should look into the Dear Me campaign. It was quite successful her in Alaska and two other states. It concentrated on people that were trying to quit. They shared lettered they wrote to themselves about quitting or wanting to quit tobacco. It definitely pulled on the heartstrings. Many people out there are struggling with tobacco addiction and need our help. Keep up the good fight for our country and the future generations.

Remember when sharing about smoke free air. You need to show that you care about the person you are talking with before they will care about what you have to share with them.

Non-traditional Approaches to Reaching Low SES Communities

Brett — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:00:58 +0000

One difficulty with smoking cessation benefits is reaching the target populations. Therefore, it would seem that an excellent approach would be to take the message to the tobacco user.

I know what you are going to say. Physicians are already suppose to ask the question and make the referral to smoking cessation. But this strategy has not been greatly effective.

So today I listened with great interest about a model from New Hampshire, which engages low-income tobacco users through Employment Readiness and Credit Counseling programs. This integrated approach is a great idea!

Just one more idea I can take away from this conference. And to think it came from the last session on the last day.

Morning Walks

fitnessphil — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:19:46 +0000

We have lucked out with the morning weather the last few days. This morning, the group ventured on a 2.3 mile walk around the French Quarter. New Orleans is an easy city to stay fit in. Yes, it’s tough with some of the food choices, but this area is very walk-able! Keep up the good work PP2012!

Tribal – VI Marketing & Branding – Honor What Is Sacred

robinmayo — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:10:11 +0000

By: Robin Mayo, MPH, RN

Community Partnership Director, Piscataquis Public Health Council

Dover-Foxcroft, Maine

Track B: Social Marketing and Messaging Through Community Collaboration

Blogging Tip: For those new to blogging, I struggled with creating my picture and intro lines for every blog. I found at the bottom of each new blog before you start blogging you can copy a previous blog to get you started. That was really helpful and made the blogging process much easier. You have to do this before you start your blog and then you can use it as a template, much quicker.

I really enjoyed the presentation by Greta Puckett that explained the process of the creating The Honor What Is Sacred Campaign that was developed in coordination with the Oklahoma Tribes. It was done with direct coordination and collaboration of the tribes. It was very likely a learning and relationship building exercise for all. They utilized “talking circles” and a “talking stick,” RESPECTFULLNESS was at the center of the process. Each individual tribe would select the members to participate in the talking circles that lasted officially approximately 3 hours but the discussions went on for several days after the talking circle session. The talking circle consisted of 8-15 members and broken down by groups of youth, seniors, elder leaders. As the “talking stick” was passed around until everyone had an opportunity to speak, again a very respectful process. Comments were recorded by not identified with the individual. They set up a photo shoot where individuals were identified by their tribes – individual was a trusted individual within the community and selected specific to that individual tribe. They integrated Culture, Language, Artisian in the photo shoot. Individuals were asked to bring to the photo shoot everyday clothing and ceremonial outfit along with something they considered sacred or personally valued that integrated their culture and artisian heritage. The campaign looked to address Quitting Commercial Tobacco; while being sensitive to Sacred and Ceremonial Tobacco (being very different).

For more information you can contact Greta Puckett at gpuckett@thevibrand.com and she can connect you also with the Tribal Liaison.

Make a Difference

Brett — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:48:13 +0000

The past two days I have been thinking about what makes a difference. I have not had any great inspirations to report yet.

However, I do have a lot more to think out. For example, why do those who have only completed high school use tobacco at 23% prevalence rate while those who earned their GED use at much higher rate, 45%?

Or if diabetes is linked to tobacco use why aren’t the programs to address these issues not more closely linked?

Or aren’t there links between obesity and tobacco use? After all there is sugar in tobacco. So are do these programs appear to be competing for each other for funding.

Like I said more questions than answers. But that is a sign of a good conference.

Laissez les bon temps rouller

Brett — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:30:55 +0000

Good Morning,

What an amazing conference! I have learned so much already and have met some amazing people.

Here are a few things I learned:

We need re-engergize the tobacco control movement
Media Campaigns can be effective (check out new ads Tips from Smokers on YouTube)
Currently 18-24 have the highest prevelence rate of cigarette smoking

I will share more later.

After all that learning it was time to have some fun. S0 last night I went out on the town with some great new friends and we laughed and danced. And then laughed some more. If you plan to come to New Orleans just remember to be flexible.

Talk to y’all soon,

Brett

Tobacco Retailer Enforcement – Necessary for all Communities

mdark13 — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 06:42:43 +0000

by Michael Dark

Health Educator, Baltimore County Department of Health

Promising Practices Conference, Guest Blogger

Tuesday was full of a lot of great sessions to choose from. From the opening plenary to the last breakout session, there was something for everyone. The topic of biggest interest to me during the day was “Leveling the Playing Field: Enforcing Tobacco Retailer Licensing in Low SES Communities.” The presenters did an excellent job at getting the information across in an easy to understand way that still had enough data to be valuable to those who work in tobacco control.

One of the programs that was highlighted, Wisconsin Wins, is an excellent program to learn from. This program conducts retailer enforcement through advertising checks, sales checks, and compliance. Groups of adults, youth, and police are able to help enforce the tobacco regulations in Wisconsin by volunteering for this program. The biggest part of the program that I loved was the acknowledgement of retailers who are compliant with the laws. We have done something similar in my county back in Baltimore and it really helps to show the community which retailers care about their customers and are willing to follow the laws that are in place for a good reason.

Kudos to all of the programs that were highlighted during this session. Your work is invaluable! Check out each of the links below for more information on the programs that were presented:

Association for NonSmokers (Minnesota)

Los Angeles Tobacco Enforcement Program

Wisconsin Wins

Don’t Forget the Fun!

mdark13 — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:29:15 +0000

by Michael Dark

Health Educator, Baltimore County Department of Health

Promising Practices Conference, Guest Blogger

This is probably the first time that a lot of conference attendees have been to New Orleans, right? Well, even if it’s your 50th time visiting, you can’t forget to have some fun! This is my first time here and I’ve learned that there are so many things to do! I’ll play the role of tourist and take pictures of everything (including the food!) and share them with people I know.

So, in case you’re looking for some great restaurants to try, here’s a few I’ve found in the past 24 hours.

1. Cafe Du Monde – You’ve probably already been told to go. Well, here it is again, make sure you go! It might be crowded at times but it’s worth it at least once. The beignets are tasty and the frozen cafe au lait was delicious!

2. Acme Oyster House – The line goes down the street a bit here but the wait won’t be long. Whether you want oysters, crawfish, or a po-boy, you’ll find something good.

3. Oceana Grill – It might not be one of the more famous places but the food sure hits the spot. I definitely recommend the Crab Cake Pasta. The crab is no match for Maryland crabs but it’ll do!