Welcome to the Winter 2011 issue of The TAPE Project News! This e-newsletter will be published four times a year, offering information and resources focused on tobacco issues in substance use treatment programs.
You can subscribe to the TAPE Project Newsletter by sending an e-mail to subscribetape@healthrecovery.org
Massachusetts tobacco NEWS
Massachusetts Ranks Low in Anti-Tobacco Funding
A new study by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids found that most states are not meeting federal guidelines when it comes to spending money on tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Many blame this on the global economic collapse which has led to difficult budget cuts across state governments. Massachusetts ranks 37th nationally in anti-tobacco spending. The report notes that the Commonwealth spends $4.5 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, which is 5% of the $90 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here in Massachusetts, there is widespread concern that decreased funding could stop—and even reverse—the remarkable progress that the Commonwealth has made in the fight against tobacco.
To read more on this, go to:
BostonHerald.com
TobaccoFreeKids.org
Massachusetts Teens Teach Peers about the Dangers of Smoking
Teens from all over Massachusetts are joining the 84 Movement in an effort to teach their peers about the dangers of tobacco. The 84 Movement is an anti-tobacco initiative named after the 84 percent of the state’s teens who do not smoke. It is funded by Mass. Department of Public Health and designed to have teens delivering anti-tobacco messages to their peers. Similar programs in the United Kingdom have been tapping teens to take anti-tobacco messages to their peers. Research has shown that teens respond more favorably to anti-tobacco messages from their peers than they do from perceived authority figures.
For more information, go to:
JoinTogether.org
EagleTribune.com
The84.org
Smoke Alarm!
Smoking Rates for Youth and Adults No Longer Declining
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that in recent years teen smoking rates have remained unchanged. Though cigarette smoking rates between 2000 and 2009 declined from 28% to 17.2% among high school students and from 11% to 5.2% among middle school students, the majority of that decline occurred between 2000 and 2006. Between 2006 and 2009, the decline in smoking among youth was so small that it is not considered statistically significant. Alarmingly, the decline in adult smoking rates has also stalled. Between 2005 and 2009 there was no further reduction in tobacco use among adults, according to the CDC.
For more on information, go to:
Consumer.Healthday.com
Special Features
New Surgeon General’s Report: Exposure to Tobacco Smoke Causes Immediate Damage
The latest tobacco-related U.S. Surgeon General’s report finds that any exposure to tobacco smoke—even occasional smoking or secondhand smoke—causes immediate damage to the body that can lead to serious illness or death. The report, How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease describes in detail how the delicate lining of the lungs becomes inflamed as soon as it is exposed to the chemical mixture in cigarette smoke. Over time, the smoke causes lung disease. The comprehensive scientific report finds that cellular damage and tissue inflammation from tobacco smoke are immediate, and that repeated exposure weakens the body’s ability to heal the damage. Furthermore, the report also examines the challenges of trying to quit smoking and how cigarettes are designed for addiction.
To read a summary or the complete report, go to:
CDC.gov
FDA Proposes Graphic Warnings for Cigarette Products
As part of a larger strategic plan to reduce adult smoking rates and prevent youth from starting to smoke, the Food and Drug Association (FDA) unveiled strong new health warnings for cigarette packages and advertisements that include 36 graphic color images, such as diseased lungs, skin lesions, and dead bodies. The warnings will also include slogans such as “Warning: Cigarettes are addictive” and “Warning: Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease.” These warnings will need to comprise at least the top 50% of the front and back panels of a cigarette pack. The FDA is seeking public comment on the proposed warnings through January 11, 2011. They will go into effect October 22, 2012. After that date, it will not be legal to import, sell or distribute cigarettes in the U.S. without the new graphic warnings.
For more information on the proposed warnings and to view them go to:
FDA.gov
In This Issue
Treatment News
Health News
Teens and Smoking
Special Topic
Resources and Announcements
Treatment News
Former Smokers Find that Some Triggers Remain
New research suggests that people who quit smoking may actually face a more long-term struggle with cravings in response to triggers. This finding—that the impact of smoking triggers does not seem to weaken as the period of abstinence lengthens—adds a new challenge to efforts in preventing relapse. However, researchers hope this finding can help former smokers be better prepared in their efforts to remain tobacco-free. By learning to anticipate triggers and by developing more effective coping strategies, former smokers can increase their chances of life-long success.
For more on the study, go to:
MedicineNet.com
Anxiety Disorders Increase Difficulty in Quitting Tobacco
A recent study published in the journal Addiction indicates that people with a history of anxiety disorders are not only more likely to smoke, but they also have more difficulty quitting and are less likely to quit. According to researchers, these results point to a strong emotional, rather than physical, component to smoking for people with anxiety. In other words, people with anxiety are more prone to use cigarettes for stress management or relief from emotional discomfort than because of nicotine addiction. Anxiety medications alone have not helped in reducing smoking rates among those with anxiety disorders.
For more information on the study, go to:
AddictionJournal.org
New Research on Treating Alcohol and Nicotine Addiction Simultaneously
Alcohol and nicotine addiction are often treated as separate addictions despite the fact that as many as 80% of heavy drinkers smoke cigarettes. New research suggests that by targeting specific receptors it may be possible to treat both alcohol and nicotine dependence with one medication. Researchers from U.C. San Francisco and Pfizer, Inc. have determined that two new compounds may be effective in treating both alcohol and nicotine dependence at the same time. Human genetic studies have shown that certain genes are of significant importance for susceptibility to both alcohol and nicotine dependence. The challenge has been finding a way to translate the genetic findings into better medication. This new research brings us closer to that possibility, but further research is needed.
To read more on the study, go to:
Eurekalert.org
States Get Economic Benefit with Investment in Quit Smoking Treatment
A recent study conducted by researchers at Penn State University and released by the American Lung Association identifies the staggering costs of smoking to the U.S. economy and provides state governments with compelling economic reasons—in dollars and cents—to help smokers quit. The study provides a nationwide cost-benefit analysis that compares the costs of smoking to society with the economic benefits of states providing quit-smoking benefits (including savings in healthcare expenditures, premature death costs and productivity losses).
For more on the study, go to:
LungUSA.org
Health News
Health Disparity Highlighted in Report on Tobacco Prevalence in LGBT Community
The American Lung Association’s latest health disparity report examines the trend of higher tobacco use among the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The report, Smoking Out a Deadly Threat: Tobacco Use in the LGBT Community, is meant to raise awareness of this health disparity and to highlight the need for additional research specific to the LGBT community and tobacco use. The report examines possible contributing factors to the LGBT smoking rate including the stress and discrimination related to homophobia, the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing to LGBT consumers, and the lack of access to culturally appropriate tobacco treatment programs. It recommends that state and local tobacco control programs should work to ensure that prevention/cessation programs, materials, and staff are culturally competent and inclusive of the LGBT community.
For more on this report, go to:
LungUSA.org
Heavy Mid-Life Smoking Linked to Dementia Risk
In the first study of its kind, researchers at Kaiser Permanente in California have found that heavy smoking in mid-life more than doubles the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. Compared with non-smokers, those who smoked two packs of cigarettes a day increased their risk of developing Alzheimer’s by more than 157% and had a 172% higher risk for developing vascular dementia—the second most-common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s. The study had a large enough sample to look at different ethnic groups and found that smoking’s effect on dementia does not differ based on race. A follow-up study is now needed to determine whether quitting smoking might lower dementia risk.
For more on the study, go to:
USAToday.com
Teens and SMOKING
Smoking Can Increase Depressive Symptoms in Some Teens
Researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of Montreal have found that smoking may actually increase depressive symptoms in some teenagers. The findings are part of the long-term Nicotine Dependence in Teens study which examines the perceived emotional benefits of smoking among teens. The association between increased depression and teen smoking exists mostly among teens that use cigarettes to self-medicate. Although smoking cigarettes may appear to improve mood or have self-medicating effects, researchers found that teens who started smoking in order to feel better reported higher depressive symptoms in the long term than teens who had never smoked.
For more on the study, go to:
ScienceDaily.com
Special Topic
Smoking Interferes with Recovery from Alcohol-Related Brain Damage
Prior research has shown how chronic alcohol abuse can damage the brain, but the damage is at least partially reversible with sustained abstinence from alcohol. Subsequent research shows that chronic smoking, which is extremely common among people with alcohol-use disorders, makes it harder for brain blood flow to recover from long-term heavy drinking. The combination of chronic alcohol use and chronic smoking is associated with significantly diminished recovery of nerve cells and cell membrane integrity in multiple parts of the brain. Researchers suggest that people who want to stop drinking should also be offered help to stop smoking, and that combined cessation be carefully planned.
For more on this, go to:
ScienceDaily.com
Resources
The University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training is pleased to announce its Spring 2011 Tobacco Treatment Specialist (TTS) Core Certification Training.
The Tobacco Treatment Specialist Core Certification Training is an internationally recognized training program that is accredited by the Association for Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence. It is an intensive four-day, evidence-based training program designed for those who provide moderate to intensive tobacco treatment services within a health care or community setting. Completion of the Basic Skills online course prior to attending TTS training is required.
Spring Dates: April 4–7, 2011
Registration deadline: March 14, 2011
Cost of Training: $850 Massachusetts residents; $1000 out-of-state residents.
Scholarships may be available. Contact the TAPE Project for more information on availability and eligibility: tape@healthrecovery.org
For more information or to register for either the Basic Skills online course or the four-day TTS Core Certification training, visit UMassMed.edu/tobacco/training.
You may also call Denise Jolicoeur at (508) 856-5886 for additional information. | 
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