Updates from the Sidekicks Program
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Greetings Sidekicks Advisors, Trainers & Partners!
We are pleased to provide you with updates on the Sidekicks initiative and more! In this issue, you'll find information on an upcoming training, community partnerships, photos from around the State as well as some national resources.
Thank you for your continued commitment to this initiative!
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If you have completed a Sidekicks training for youth in your community, please remember to
have youth complete the brief online
Follow-Up Survey
within 60 days of your training. The results of this ANONYMOUS survey go to MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence's Tobacco Prevention Services team for review and helps us make sure we are meeting the needs of youth Sidekicks in Maine and their feedback is extremely important!!
Additionally, if you are a trained Adult Advisor and have yet to facilitate your own youth Sidekicks training and would like to
'shadow' an upcoming Sidekicks training
to hone your Sidekicks facilitation skills
, please
email us
and we'll reach out to other Adult Advisors or DTPPs who may have an upcoming training scheduled.
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Save the Date: February 11, 2020 in Portland!
MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence Tobacco Prevention Services team will be hosting a training for adults to be trained as Master Trainers on
Tuesday February 11th from
9:00-4:00 @ MaineHealth in Portland. A light breakfast and full lunch will be provided.
Please
RSVP
by February 4th.
This training is open to all adults in Maine looking to become a Sidekicks master trainer (i.e. instructed to deliver training to youth as well as prepare/train other adults to deliver SK) to support youth in having conversations with their peers about their tobacco/vape product use.
Contact
Amanda at MaineHealth CTI if you'd like additional information or have questions about the Sidekicks program and/or this training.
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Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program & MYAN Collaboration Overview
“This year, through increased funding, MYAN district youth coordinators expanded their dedicated youth engagement hours. As part of their work, the coordinators are responsible for several new programming elements, one of which involves supporting a Sidekicks-trained group of young people to successfully develop and implement a project within their school/community. MYAN district youth coordinators are eager to partner with Sidekicks-trained youth to make an impact in their schools. Please connect with us if an adult advisor is seeking additional support or if youth want to lead more activism in prevention and awareness in their schools and communities. We cannot do this well without you! To paraphrase the great Mr. Rogers, won’t you be our neighbors?”
Continue Reading...
If you have any questions about Year 4 Tobacco Prevention Services/MYAN engagement activities, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the
T
obacco Prevention Services team. Thank you, Beth and the MYAN team for your ongoing support of our collective efforts!.
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The purpose of the
Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) is to assess the health status of Maine youth, as well as the positive and negative attitudes and behaviors that influence healthy development. Data from the MIYHS can be used by schools, community organizations, and state agencies to plan and evaluate prevention programs and to provide the basis for grant applications. The MIYHS was first administered in 2009 and is subsequently administered in the winter / spring of odd-numbered years. The MIYHS website has two main portions: 1) Reports and fact sheets that present Maine, County and Public Health District reports (
Data Results and
Fact Sheets); and 2) the access-code-protected Local Data with school reports. Only administrators for schools that participated in the MIYHS are able to access their data, unless the access-code is otherwise provided.
Use of combustible cigarettes among high school aged students has consistently fallen since the start of MIYHS data collection – from 18% (past 30 day use among HS students) in 2009 to 7% in 2019. Likewise, past 30 day use of other tobacco products such as chewing tobacco and cigars / cigarillos has also steadily declined over the past ten years.
Gains made in the use of these forms of tobacco / nicotine have been somewhat offset by the recent increase in use of “electronic vapor products” (EVP) – or products such as e-cigarettes. The 2015 MIYHS was the first to ask about EVP use, and this survey highlighted how these particular products were the most common form of tobacco product used in Maine by youth.
While past 30 day use decreased slightly in 2017, use rates increased significantly in 2019. Some things to know about this particular question:
- 2017 MIYHS data on e-cigarette use may be underestimated as JUUL was not specifically mentioned in the e-cigarette use questions.
- JUUL was not on the market at the time of the survey in 2015.
- The 2019 survey did specifically include JUUL as an e-cigarette brand.
The release of 2019 data demonstrates that while significant strides have been made in Maine’s youth prevention efforts relating to combustible products, there still remains significant work regarding the unique challenges associated with the use of electronic vapor products.
If you have recently been trained as an adult advisor or master trainer and would like to discuss any MIYHS data/trends ahead of any upcoming trainings, please email
Tobacco Prevention Services.
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Governor Mills Orders Response to Increase in Youth Vaping
"Governor directs full-scale education & outreach campaign to warn young Mainers of risks associated with vaping and will move to end provision in law allowing some 18- and 19-year olds to still purchase tobacco products
In response to new data showing an increase in e-cigarette use among Maine youth, Governor Janet Mills announced today that her Administration will launch an education and prevention campaign targeted to young people to raise awareness about the dangers of e-cigarette use and will move to eliminate provision in state law that still allows some individuals under the age of 21 to buy tobacco products."
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22 Mainers Trained as Sidekicks Master Trainers in October
On October 20, 2019, 22 adults from across the state joined MaineHealth CTI Tobacco Prevention Services staff in Augusta to be trained as Master Trainers. Educators and community partners training participants represented the following organizations:
It was a fun day with lots of energy and we truly appreciate everyone's active participation!
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Tobacco-Free Area Spotted!
On December 5th, CTI staff and several Tobacco Prevention Partners attended the first of three Continuing Education Series trainings presented by Maine Youth Action Network. The training was held at
The Point in South Portland and we snapped a pic of this tobacco-free area sign, which is the result of a community partnership between the
City of Portland Public Health Division Tobacco Prevention Partner and The Point.
Signs reinforce tobacco-free policies and are a great way to communicate to visitors that a space/organization cares about the health of its employees and visitors.
Have pictures of signs from across the State? Please
share them so we can promote the great work happening in Maine to create tobacco and smoke-free spaces!
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Out & About with Eric Taylor of Somerset Public Health
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News & Resources
MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence staff, Sarah Rines & Amanda Taisey were invited by Jon, Joe & Courtney of
WPOR 101.9 in South Portland to talk about the great work happening across the State related to commercial tobacco prevention efforts. Click
HERE to listen to the 5-minute segment as Sarah & Amanda discuss Sidekicks, accessing the Maine Tobacco HelpLine via
The QuitLink, and Amanda gets made fun of for not winning concert tickets.
(MainePublic, November 2019)
"The surge in vaping among teens has alarmed many parents, pediatricians and teachers. Though the chemical of primary concern linked to reported illnesses and deaths has been identified as vitamin E acetate, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says that none of these devices are safe because they contain nicotine and other harmful chemicals. And even if a young person does decide to quit, it can be hard to do."
(Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, updated weekly)
CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local health departments, and other clinical and public health partners are investigating a national outbreak of e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (EVALI).Get the latest information regarding what is new, what is known and what the CDC recommendations are with regard to e-cigarette and vaping products.
During the webinar, cardiologist, medical toxicologist, and UCSF Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences Neal L. Benowitz, MD described major safety concerns for nicotine, independent of combusted tobacco; identified nicotine levels and pharmacokinetics from various tobacco products, and i
mplications for addiction and disease risk; explained
potential effects of nicotine on the developing fetal and adolescent brains and described cardiovascular and respiratory concerns from nicotine with use of electronic nicotine delivery devices (ENDS).
(Rescue Agency, July 2019)
Teen vaping continues to rise across the country. Without effective intervention, we are facing a new generation of nicotine addiction. That’s why we feel it is so important to share our latest science and strategies with our fellow tobacco prevention colleagues.
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Sidekicks is an initiative of the MaineHealth Center for Tobacco Independence implemented with funding from Maine Prevention Services, Maine CDC, DHHS
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