Coalition Business

The next Central Wisconsin Tobacco Free Coalition meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 13th from 1:30-3:30 PM at the Ruth Gilfry Building in Stevens Point. At our next coalition meeting we will be taking a look into the coalition focus for 2016.

World AIDS Day

Tuesday, December 1 is World AIDS Day. Sadly, people living with HIV smoke about 2-3 times the national average, and typically have worse treatment outcomes than non-smokers. Smoking increases the risk of developing lung and other cancers, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, other diseases, and dying early.

When someone living with HIV smokes they are more likely to get other HIV-related infections (thrush, bacterial pneumonia) or other serious illnesses than nonsmokers with HIV.

For these reasons, smoking is a significant health issue for everyone but, even more so for people living with HIV. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 19% of adults in the United States smoke. The smoking rate among people living with HIV is 2 to 3 times higher.

You can learn more about this from Brian’s Story.

Quitting Resources

This year if you are ready to quit tobacco for good, the Wisconsin Quit Line can help. Why wait until January to start quitting? The Wisconsin Quit Line can help you make set your quit date, develop a quit plan, provide 24/7 access to cessation coaching and free medications.

For more information, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit the Quit Line website.

Coalition Media

Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing

Recently, the coalition’s efforts in smoke-free housing were highlighted by WSAW-Channel 7. Over 350 properties have implemented a smoke-free policy in their apartment buildings- almost 5,000 units! the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently proposed a rule that would require every public housing agency in the United States to implement a smoke-free.

Other Tobacco Media

Hookah and E-Cigarettes Popular Among High Schoolers

Researchers used data from about 2,000 11th and 12th graders in the Southern California Children’s Health Study. Participants self-reported if in the past 30 days they had  e-cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, e-cigarettes, hookah or chewing tobacco. The study showed that more than 10% of the students reported using hookah and just as many reported using e-cigarettes.

Hookah and E-cigarettes Popular With High Schoolers

Tobacco- Out of Sight, Out of Mind

If convince stores were to keep tobacco products out of sight in convenience stores it may make teens less likely to smoke. A recent study showed that teens who shopped in stores where tobacco displays were kept out of sight were 11% less susceptible to the idea of smoking in the future than teens who saw cigarettes prominently displayed behind the cashier.

For Teens and Tobacco, Out of Sight Might Mean Out of Mind