RPTFC Monthly Updates
Have you visited the Regional PA Tobacco-Free Coalitions RPTFC.org website lately? The website now has a large diverse populations page. It is supplied with more than a dozen links to vital getting-to-know-our-neighbors' documents. You can locate research and information covering a variety of disparate populations. Priority populations to include: Low Income Individuals, Hispanic/Latinx, Pacific Islander, Veterans, People Experiencing Homelessness, LGBTQA and even a page that covers Smokeless Tobacco Products and more. Check it out today!
Save the dates for our approaching March meetings:
Northeast meetings: Wed, March 16, 2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Virtual Meeting
Southcentral: Tues, March 8, 2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Virtual Meeting
Northcentral: Wed, March 9, 2022, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Virtual Meeting
All meetings will be held via Microsoft Teams. For more details related to the Regional PA Tobacco-Free Coalitions, please contact Chelsey Hildebrand.
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New Year's CDC Feature Aims to Help Manage Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms
A new CDC feature article celebrates New Year’s resolutions and helps people manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms as they quit. To increase the likelihood of success, a quit plan should include strategies to help manage these symptoms.
Quit-smoking medicines and remembering quitting tips when making a plan can help. These quitting tips have all been shown to help with or without medicines. Make your environment work for you by getting rid of tobacco products, getting support from others, and avoiding temptations. Follow this advice:
- Distract yourself with other activities.
- Find safe substitutes for cigarettes like toothpicks, straws, or cinnamon sticks.
- Listen to what the urge says, then talk back!
- Ride the waves! Let the urges come and go.
- Adjust your medicine.
- Remember you likely feel this way because your body is getting used to being without nicotine. Withdrawal symptoms will fade as long as you are smoke-free.
While nicotine withdrawal may be hard to manage at times, the benefits of quitting smoking outweigh the symptoms. Some benefits include improved heart health, lowered cancer risk, a longer life and more. By knowing what to expect and how to manage withdrawal symptoms, people can stick to their New Year’s resolution to quit smoking.
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LGBTQ 2022 Health Needs Assessment
This is the first week of the 2022 Pennsylvania LGBTQ Health Needs Assessment. As you may know, this assessment provides incredible insight into health disparities and barriers to care for affecting LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians, including a wealth of information on tobacco use and cessation. LGBTQ Pennsylvanians, ages 13+, are invited to participate in PA’s LGBTQ Health Needs Assessment.
The goal of the survey is to gather information to better understand the health status and health care experience of you and your community. Results will be summarized, so your feedback can be used to start conversations, inspire action and bring attention to community needs. Please consider completing the English or Español survey.
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Fend-Off-Flu Resources
Influenza like illness is above baseline in the country. And, influenza vaccination rates prior to holiday break were down. At the start of October, according to flu vaccination coverage among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, data of adults 65+, stated 11.1% of this age group received their flu vaccination this season, compared to 28.5% at the same time in 2020. These numbers tells us that there's still work to do to increase flu vaccination. It's not too late.
The American Lung Association is seeking your help with dispensing the Fend Off Flu resources out to the communities in which you serve. Resources to download include:
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Webinar: The Critical Role Healthcare Providers Play in Fending Off Influenza - Presenters discuss the important role healthcare providers play.
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Webinar: The Caregivers Role in Fending Off Flu - Understanding why flu vaccination is important for adults at higher risk, the role of caregivers in protecting older adults and strategies for making vaccination a priority in long-term care.
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Toolkit: Promoting Flu Vaccination in the Workplace - A guide for employers to educate their workforce on season influenza. Available in English and Spanish.
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Toolkit: Promoting Flu Vaccination for Caregivers of Older Adults - Caregivers in long-term care settings play a critical role in protecting seniors against influenza.
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COVID-19: New Procedures
You've probably seen a number of COVID-19 updates in the news. The Health Promotion Infectious Disease and Immunization team thought to share some vital highlights.
You can reach out to Michelle Caul for any questions you may have about the highlights below.
New in Prevention:
Vaccination continues to be the best way to protect yourself against COVID-19.
- Timing for Pfizer-BioNTech boosters has changed to at least 5 months after your primary series.
- Boosters are now recommended for everyone 12 and older.
- Kids 5 and older who are moderately or severely immunocompromised are recommended to get an additional dose 28 days after their primary series. This is in line with the adult recommendation.
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Evusheld (AstraZeneca) is a long-acting antibody (LAAB) and is under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). It is to be given to prevent COVID-19 infection, you may have heard the term "pre-exposure prophylaxis". It's Indicated for certain groups: moderately and severely immunocompromised people and those who are not recommended to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. The EUA can be viewed here.
Key Facts about Boosters - You can:
- Receive a COVID-19 booster at least 6 months after your primary mRNA vaccine.
- Receive a COVID-19 booster at least 2 months after your primary J&J vaccine.
- Select whatever COVID-19 booster you'd prefer (Moderna, Pfizer, or J&J). It doesn't have to be the same as your primary series. Although, 12-17-years-old can only receive Pfizer at this time.
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Find a vaccination site at vaccines.gov
New in Treatment:
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Molnupiravir (Merck) is a pill antiviral under EUA for adults 18+. This is to taken 4 pills every 12 hours within 5 days. As with every medication, it is recommended for certain people and has contraindications. You can view the EUA here.
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Paxlovid (Pfizer) is a pill antiviral under EUA for 12+. This is to be taken 3 pills twice a day for 5 days. As with every medication, it is recommended for certain individuals and has contraindications. You can view the EUA here.
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Webinar: Pharmacists Prescribing Tobacco Cessation Medications, January 19, 2022
Webinar Objectives:
- To describe the evolving role of pharmacists in prescribing medications for treating tobacco use and dependence.
- To explain Vermont's process for enacting pharmacy prescriptive authority for NRT
- Identify two health systems strategies to gain cross-departmental support for policy and program innovations
- To explain the importance of two communication strategies used in Vermont
One hour and 15 minutes of FREE credit can be earned for participants who join the LIVE session, on Wednesday, January 19th. Instructions on how to claim the credit will be sent to you after the webinar. Register today!
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American Lung Association on ABC27: Encouraging Smokers to Make Quitting A New Year’s Resolution
Press Releases by Jennifer Folkenroth
(WHTM) The new year means new resolutions. For some, that might be to quit smoking. American Lung Association (ALA) is encouraging smokers to make quitting their New Year’s resolution.
The American Lung Association states now is the perfect time to quit. The Association also says more than 70% of smokers want to quit, and 40% will try this year, but only a small fraction succeed without support. They add that it’s never too late to make a change. “You don’t have to quit alone, no one should ever have to quit alone. Enrolling in a behavioral counseling program can really help provide you the support you need. . . through your quit journey, but also to have that peer to peer support,” Jennifer Folkenroth of the American Lung Association said. View the full news clip here.
Check out additional Pennsylvania ALA press releases involving quitting:
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ALA Tips for a Smoke Free 2022, Fox 56 WOLF News, Wilkes-Barre
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ALA Tips for a Smoke Free 2022, CBS21 News, Harrisburg
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Tips for Quitting Smoking as your New Year’s Resolution, Connect FM 96.7/99.7
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Looking to Quit Using Tobacco in 2022? The ALA Offers These Helpful Tips, Fox 43 News, York
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LFHS Covers Lung Health in Lebanon County
Article by Holly Dolan, Lebanon Family Health Services
The end of 2021 was a busy time for Lebanon Family Health Services (LFHS) and a good time for lung health in Lebanon County. We were happy to welcome three new members to the YLAP honor role: Deer Lake and Beach Run Apartments and the South 6th Street Playground Basketball Courts.
After almost a decade of seeing the youth vaping epidemic explode nationwide and around our state, we were happy to see positive moves in our county to address this in a proactive way. Two high schools ran a pilot of the INDEPTH program. And, beginning Spring of 2022, they will be adopting it as an alternative to suspension. The NOT program will also be offered to further support the students who complete the INDEPTH program.
Along with our partners, coordinated through the Community Health Council of Lebanon County, we are developing a county-wide vaping awareness campaign and look forward to clear air in 2022!
Pictured: New YLAP sign that will be placed within the basketball courts on South 6th Street.
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Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Colleagues Write Op-Ed: Kick Smoking in Casinos to the Curb
Article by Kimberly Levitt and Devin Yeatter, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
Dr. Kimberly Levitt and Devin Yeatter of Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, co-authored an op-ed which was published in 13 news outlets across Pennsylvania; in addition to social media feeds such as Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The op-ed begins as such. . .
In the midst of a pandemic impacting the respiratory system, there’s hope. Are fewer people smoking? That’s what the data suggests. The percentage of American adults who smoke has dropped from 21% in 2005 to just 14% in 2019, according to the CDC. But the dangers of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke linger in loopholes that place countless lives at risk every day in public venues — especially inside casinos, benefiting from a record rise in gambling during the pandemic.
The CDC reports secondhand smoking led to around 41,000 deaths across the country every year before COVID-19. Now — in addition to that monumental figure — public health experts warn that secondhand smoke allows COVID-19 to travel farther than breath alone, potentially increasing its transmission.
Read the full article here.
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