CLEAN AIR WAVES

          Editor Corey Wakeley

In this issue:

Cessation

Local Cessation Efforts

Students Fight Against Tobacco

Youth Summit Coming

For Your Information

February 1st                        8th Annual Youth Summit will be held at the Pasco Red Lion

February 1st                      Community Presentation by James Warren, 7pm at the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco for more information on James Warren visit: www.theyouthmotivator.com

February 16th               Through with Chew game with Tri City Americans

February 17th - 23rd    Through With Chew Week

For more information about up coming events visit our website at: www.tobacco-free.net

Cessation Around the State and in Benton and Franklin Counties

By Corey Wakeley - Marketing Director

Losing weight and quitting smoking still top the list of New Year's Resolutions. The Washington State Department of Health wants to make quitting smoking a successful New Year's Resolution of 2008.

The Tobacco Quit Line has trained professionals to help each tobacco user develop a plan to quit their tobacco habit. Studies show that tobacco users who receive help through counseling in addition to medication, such as nicotine replacement, are 2-3 times more successful in quitting than those who try and quit on their own.

17% of Washingtonians smoke, resulting in 8,000 deaths and $1.5 billion dollars spend annually from the states budget on the healthcare of those afflicted by disease from tobacco use.

Locally, Benton Counties percentage of smokers is higher than the state average at 17.1% of it's residents smoke while Franklin County falls below the state average with only 14.9% smokers.

The tobacco industry spends an estimated $184 million dollars annually, marketing and advertising tobacco products in an effort to keep existing tobacco users and recruit new ones thus making quitting smoking even more difficult.

However, the goal of quitting tobacco use is becoming more and more attainable each year because of the resources, research and the availability of helpful programs. The Washington State Department of Health's Tobacco Program has the resources, the research and the programs to help make the New Year's Resolution to quit smoking a success.

For more information contact corey@tobacco-free.net.

Local Cessation Easily Accessible

Tobacco Free Benton-Franklin Counties is offering Tobacco 101 Seminars. These locally offered seminars are designed to give tobacco users the face to face opportunity to gain information and tools to quit using tobacco.

These seminars include tools to help the tobacco user:

• Identify why they use tobacco

• Identify triggers to tobacco use and ways to beat them

• Understand how to use Nicotine Replacement Products

• How to get the support you need from your family, friends and coworkers

The seminars are free and open to tobacco users, their friends and families.

Scheduled seminars:

      January 15 - 6:30 - 8:00 pm - Cancer Center

      January 18 - 11:15am - Columbia Basin College - Nursing

      January 23 - 12:00 - 1:30pm - Cancer Center

For more information about Tobacco 101 Seminars or to offer one at your place of business contact Amy Ward at amy@tobacco-free.net.

Students Hard at Work in Schools and Community

 By Melanie Norris-Tobacco Prevention Coordinator

Area youth have been busy the last few months spreading the message; tobacco use is not the cool thing to do.
On November 15^th several local schools participated in SHOUT Out No Tobacco day. River View High School's SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) Club members went to several middle school PE classes and gave anti tobacco presentations. Students in SHOUT (Students Helping Others Understand Tobacco) at Kennewick, Kamiakin and Richland High Schools held lunch time activities, put up anti tobacco posters and handed out tobacco facts in an effort to promote awareness of the dangers of tobacco use.

Volunteers from Richland High School SHOUT and the Youth Advisory Board also participated in the Department of Health sponsored No Stank You Total Theatre Take Over event which was held at Regal Cinemas at Columbia Center Mall on Saturday December 8^th. During the event, youth took Polaroid pictures of movie goers in front of the No Stank You ad campaign backdrop, gave out free movie tickets to anyone wearing a No Stank You t-shirt and distributed other items promoting the advertising campaign. The event peaked interest by KONA, the Tri-City Herald and KVEW and who interviewed local youth for more information on the statewide No Stank You campaign.

For more information regarding this article contact Melanie Norris at melanie@tobacco-free.net.

Youth Summit on the Horizon

By Corey Wakeley - Marketing Director

On February 1, 2008 about 150 youth from Benton and Franklin Counties will come together at the Pasco Red Lion to spend the day in a rally against tobacco.

The attending youth will have the opportunity to hear James Warren, an illusionist, who will share about the ways the tobacco industry targets youth, the dangers of tobacco use and ways to avoid falling prey to tobacco company schemes.

After Mr.Warren's presentation, youth will have the opportunity to attend a variety of different workshops all focusing on tobacco.

For more information about the Summit or registration contact melanie@tobacco-free.net.

FYI

By Corey Wakeley - Marketing Director

An article published in the American Journal of Public Health's December 2006 issue concluded that "exposure to tobacco company youth-targeted smoking prevention advertising generally had no beneficial outcomes for youths. Exposure to tobacco company parent-targeted advertising may have harmful effects on youth, especially among youths in grades 10-12."

The study found that youth who had been exposed to these parent-targeted advertisements actually perceived the harm from tobacco as much lower than it is and those youth also had and a greater intention to smoke in the future than the control group.

For more information contact corey@tobacco-free.net

Upcoming Trainings:

For more information about these trainings, contact: