N-O-T News

Brought to you by The American Lung Association of West Virginia, the WV Bureau for Public Health Division of Tobacco Prevention, the Governors Safe and Drug Free Communities Program and the West Virginia Department of Education

Upcoming Trainings

TATU à May 4 in Flatwoods

 

N-O-T Clinic Tips

 

I have been fortunate this month to visit some ongoing NOT and ATS clinics in the state. I would like to personally thank Rick Jackson at Cabell County Career Technical Center, Lana Harper at Ripley High School and Cil Payne at South Charleston High School, for allowing me to intrude on their sessions. All three of these individuals helped me clarify several concepts in our training.

 

Low Attendance, although we require three students to start, Cil showed me how beneficial a one-on-one session was. You could see the boys self esteem building in the 45 minutes we spent with him. When you have a very low attendance you may want to consider an alternate activity and postpone the current session for a week, that way you will not have to repeat the session twice and the one or two students who did show won’t have to sit through it twice.

 

Other Drugs: In Ricks class the teens seemed to want to talk about marijuana and the legalization of marijuana a lot. If you run into this situation I recommend that you call the WV State Clearing House at 800-642-9021 ext. #8. and order brochures to hand out and quickly bring the topic back to tobacco.

 

Volunteer vs. Mandatory: When I sat in on Lana’s ATS class the hostility from the young men was an enlightening moment for me. The young men questioned just about all the information Lana presented including the statistics. According to the theory we teach, the hostile attitude of being in a “punishment” program is the primary reason NOT is a voluntary program. The teens need to want to quit to be successful in their quitting attempt. However after reviewing fourteen ATS evaluation packages we are still showing a 16 percent quit rate in the punitive ATS program. This speaks directly to the dedication of you facilitators in the field actually implementing the NOT and ATS programs. Thank you so much.

 

The saying goes “feed them and they will come”. Many programs in the state have done just that with help from different sources of funding. S some used the ALA mini-grants. Some used the RESA Regional Tobacco Prevention Specialist and others found organizations to collaborate with. While this is a good recruiting tool, we found that many teens come just for the food. I’d like to suggest that you consider holding off on incentives until the second or even the third session. That way you will ensure that you have teens that are serious about quitting.

 

For next month’s news letter -- One of the teens at the Cabell County clinic asked me if I could guarantee success. If you get asked this question how would you answer it? Please email me your responses and I’ll post them in May’s newsletter (which ‘by the way’ is the last one of the school year).

 

In the news: We must change or die!

 

From: Bluefield (WV) Daily Telegraph, Date: 04/23/04

ARC report: We must change, or die http://www.bdtonline.com/articles/2004/04/22/editorials/01thursedit.txt

 

A new report released by the Appalachian Regional Commission indicating people living in our area are more likely to die from heart disease at a younger age than those in other parts of the nation is another reminder of the importance of establishing a cardiac facility in Bluefield.

 

The study is the first comprehensive health assessment of the 13-state ARC region which stretches from Mississippi to New York. It provides a large - and important - warning to people living in southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia: Our lifestyles are causing harm to our health.

 

A study comparing black and white men and women in Appalachia with those in other parts of the country is an eye opener. It shows that in all four categories, the local death statistics are worse.

 

The death rate from heart disease for white men in Appalachia was 222.8 per 100,000 compared with 174.9 for the rest of the nation. The rates for Appalachia African-American men 354.6 and women 182.6 per 100,000 also exceeded the national figures, respectively, 325.4 and 162.8.

 

The rates for white women in Appalachia and nationwide were better with the Appalachian women having a 78.9 rating compared to the national percentage of 60.9.

 

Cancer rates were also higher for white men and women and African-American men but black Appalachian women had a slightly lower rate, 194.8 compared to 199 nationally.

 

While researchers who conducted the study say they do not know why persons living in the ARC area have higher death rates at an earlier age, other health officials are outspoken. They say we are obese, drink alcoholic beverages, smoke too much and get little exercise. In other words, we have lousy lifestyles and we don't concentrate on our health.

 

Obesity causes people to suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and breathing problems.

 

Exercise is recommended by physicians to reduce and/or prevent heart disease and to reduce cancer cases.

 

It's no longer speculation. We've got to change our eating, drinking and smoking habits and exercise more or we will die younger.

 

American Lung Association Call Center

When you are looking for answers to your lung health questions, the American Lung Association Call Center will provide you with immediate, clear, and accurate information at no cost. When you call you will be connected directly to a Registered Nurse/Respiratory Therapist who will take the time to talk with you and help you find the answers that you are looking for.

The Call Center can provide you with comprehensive information on a variety of lung health topics, including:

Lung Cancer                         Asthma                            Allergies         

Emphysema                          Smoking cessation           Environmental health

The Call Center is unique in having professional, credentialed personnel on staff who are qualified to help find answers to your questions. With over 25 years of experience in the health care industry, our staff bring a wealth of knowledge to the Call Center, including expertise in:

Respiratory Therapy                      Nursing                           Respiratory Home Care

Medication Counseling                 Physician Referral           Smoking Cessation

Health Care Insurance                   Medicare/Medicaid

Our resources are continually being updated to ensure you receive the most current and accurate information available. Our experienced staff can explain a procedure to you or offer assistance with physician referrals. No matter what your question, we will work with you to find the answer. Our staff is available for immediate telephone consultation to offer advice and information on a variety of lung health topics by calling 1-800-548-8252.

 

Since the release of the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health in the United States in 1964, about 10 million people have died from smoking-related diseases in the United States.

 

 

Thank you for not standing by while our children become statistics!

 

 

I would like to congratulate the following facilitators for providing the N-O-T & ATS program in their schools.

 

 

Fundraising Opportunity   

 

The American Lung Association of West Virginia has purchased some adorable miniature plush stuffed bears. Some of you have seen the bears at various events and we have been using them as door prizes, etc. Our Executive Director Sara Crickenberger is making them available to you as a possible fundraising vehicle for your groups. Your cost for the bears will be $4 each: We have five different colors blue, green, orange, purple and red. You may set any price on them you think is fair. Bottom line is that anything you make over $4 is your profit.

 

Incentives   

 

Mini-Grants

$50 mini-grants are available to get your groups started.  The mini-grant can be used to purchase pencils, stress balls and most importantly, food!  We have heard many times, “If you feed them, they will come!”  Applying for the mini-grant is easy. 

 

N-O-T Stipends

Another positive incentive are the $250 stipends, which are available for facilitators after all evaluation materials have been returned to ALAWV.

 

Student Journals

Program expenses are kept to a minimum since we provide all required hand outs for students in this “journal.” Blank pages are provided for the students to write in.

 

 ATS Stipends

Thanks to a generous grant from the Department of Education Office Of Healthy schools we now have $100 stipends available for facilitators who use the ATS program in their schools.

 

You can find all these resources and more at our web site click here à  N-O-T

 

Free Technical Assistance! Points of contacts are:

 

N-O-T Program Manager

Tony Richards

American Lung Association of WV

Post Office Box 3980, 415 Dickinson Street

Charleston, West Virginia 25339-3980

tony@alawv.org ; www.alawv.org

(304) 342-6600 or 1-800-LUNG-USA

 

Regional Tobacco Prevention Specialists

 

RESA I: Lori McGraw, (304) 256-4712 x331

RESA II: Sue Niestroy-Wilson, (304) 529-6205

RESA III: Cybele Boehm, (304) 766-7655 x114

RESA IV: Cheri Hall, (304) 872-6440 x19

RESA V: Gus Nelson, (304) 485-6513 x 122

RESA VI: Caryn Puskarich, (304) 231-3816

RESA VII: Jan Nichols, (304) 624-6554

RESA VIII: Donna Kuhn, (304) 257-2641