It's time to go back to school!

It's that time of year again! If they haven't already, many parents will soon be taking their kids to registration and school shopping. And just around the corner are days of making plans for juggling kids' school and after-school activities.


(image from Corbis Images)

One more item for parents to think about is how they can help their kids stay tobacco and nicotine free this school year. While monitoring your child's tobacco use used to be as simple as smelling their clothes for smoke, new tobacco and nicotine products are making the task more and more difficult.

While fewer Wisconsin students are smoking than ever before (only about 1 in 10 high school students), more and more students are trying and becoming addicted to e-cigarettes (aka. vape pens). Youth use of e-cigs tripled in just one year nationally.



Sadly, the candy-like flavors and lower costs lead teens to think smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes are harmless, when the truth is they carry serious consequences. Like a lifetime addiction to nicotine, countless types of cancer, respiratory problems, and more. Tobacco and nicotine negatively affect almost every part of the body. See graphic below.



We of course want to end on a positive note and there is good news... re:TH!NK, coalitions, schools, parents, legislators, and others throughout Wisconsin and world are working to reverse the deadly trends of tobacco and nicotine. That's why we continue to do what we do, because we know an impact can be made.

To learn more about our efforts, connect with us on Facebook or email us at rethink@co.winnebago.wi.us!

World No Tobacco Day

Globally tobacco kills 6 million people each year, of that more than 600,000 are non-smokers affected by second-hand smoke. Without action, by 2030 the epidemic will kill more than 8 million per year and more than 80% of those deaths will be of those living in low- and middle-income countries.

 

On May 31, the World Health Organization (WHO) and it's partners recognize World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). This year, the focus is on ending the illegal trade of tobacco products worldwide.

 

Although it may seem like small problem, illegal tobacco trade affects health as well as economic growth and illegal tobacco sales aren't just happening in some countries. Almost all countries worldwide are affected by illegal tobacco trade with as much as one in every 10 cigarettes consumed globally.  

 

 

The World No Tobacco Day 2015 campaign is focusing it's efforts on the 5 main goals below.

1. Raise awareness on the harm to people's health caused by the illicit trade in tobacco products, especially the youth and low-income groups, due to the increased accessibility and affordability of these products due to their lower costs.
2. Show how health care gains and programs, tobacco control policies, like increased tax and prices, pictorial health warnings and other measures are undermined by the illicit trade in tobacco products.
3. Demonstrate how the tobacco industry has been involved in the illicit trade of tobacco products.
4. Highlight how the illicit trade of tobacco products is a means of amassing great wealth for criminal groups to finance other organized crime activities, including drugs, human and arms trafficking, as well as terrorism
5. Promote the ratification of, accession to and use of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products by all Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) and its early entry into force through the active involvement of all relevant stakeholders.

 

Join the campaign and raise awareness through social media to amp up the message and help curb illegal tobacco trade.

 

This blog is a summary of information from the WHO World No Tobacco Day 2015 Campaign. To learn more visit, http://www.who.int/campaigns/no-tobacco-day/2015/en/.

Spring Fun with the Winnebago FACT Group

This spring the Winnebago FACT group has been taking their FACTivims to outside and using their outdoor voices. From sprucing up the Sundial in downtown Oshkosh to chalking sidewalks with the FACT Movement message outside Maplewood Middle School in Menasha the group has been loving the warmer weather and sunshine.

Cigarette butts are the number one littered item on U.S. roadways and on beaches/waterways worldwide and our group wanted to make a dent in that litter. The FACT Crew put on gloves and got to work. In just thirty minutes they had collected BAGS of cigarette butts and helped get the Sundial park in downtown Oshkosh ready for spring. Take a look at all those happy helpers in the below picture.

The Winnebago FACT group also chalked up the sidewalks in Menasha at Maplewood Middle School. They used sidewalk chalk to spread the truth about tobacco while bringing attention to the dangers of using tobacco. The FACT Crew had a blast writing messages and talking with their classmates when they stopped by to ask about the messages. It's always a great day for a jumping picture and spreading the truth about tobacco!

If you know of any one in 7th- 12th grade who might be interested in joining FACT send us an email at rethink@co.winnebago.wi.us, call 920-232-3000, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

MLK Day 2015

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A day to remember his dream of equality as well as the work that's been done by many to make that dream a reality.

 

Today I am reminded of my trip this summer to Washington, D.C.

 

While I had been to D.C. before, I had not yet seen the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial that was erected in 2011. I had seen pictures of it's construction and on one of the most beautiful days in May I was finally able to see the Memorial in person. It took my breath away.

 

 



After short walk from the Lincoln Memorial where MLK delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963, I entered the Memorial through two slabs of granite. "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope" is inscribed on one slab, a powerful line from MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech.

 

The photo's doesn't do the monument justice. I couldn't capture the immense size and power of the Memorial with a camera.

 

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. day is a reminder to us all that more work is needed to fulfill Dr. King's dream of equality. One particular inequality that stands out to me surrounds tobacco use. The graph below pulls data on the impacts of tobacco and it makes disparities in tobacco use pretty obvious.

 

We've seen tobacco rates declining and in December 2014 the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced a record low smoking rate of 18%. Unfortunately, compared to the overall number, specific populations (see below graph) did not experience that same all time low.

 

 

It's no coincidence that these populations smoke at higher rates than the state average. Marketing of tobacco products is heavily targeted to these specific communities. And they aren't the only groups disproportionately affected by tobacco. Those affected by mental illness smoke at a MUCH higher rate than the national average. 

 

re:TH!NK and coalitions all throughout the state are working to decrease tobacco disparities in our community by connecting adults with quit smoking resources and involving youth and adults in local tobacco prevention and control activities.

 

Today, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, let's remember the dream of equality and the strides we have taken as a country to get there. While work is still needed to achieve equality, we are on our way. We can make Dr. King's dream a reality.

 

-Anna