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New Traffic Law Protects Children from the Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
Starting January 1, 2008, California's most precious and vulnerable population will be further protected from secondhand smoke exposure. California drivers will risk up to a $100 fine if they are stopped for a traffic violation and found smoking with a minor present in the car. The health risks linked to cigarette smoking are widely known yet somewhat less known are the dangers from secondhand smoke. The most recent Surgeon General's report stated that children are especially vulnerable to the health risks associated with secondhand smoke exposure. Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma because they inhale many of the same cancer-causing substances and poisons as smokers. Because their bodies are developing, infants and young children are especially vulnerable to the poisons in secondhand smoke.
The Helpline educates our clients about the dangers of secondhand smoke exposure
and encourages them to protect their families from those dangers by placing smoking
bans in their homes and cars. This new law assists in our efforts to decrease secondhand
smoke exposure while honoring
First 5 California's mission of promoting, supporting, and improving the
health and early development of children 0-5. We encourage you to use this law as
an opportunity for patient and client education on the dangers of secondhand smoke
exposure and to promote the Helpline,
1-800-NO-BUTTS, for those ready to quit.
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CRIHB & the Helpline Work Together to Assist American Indian Smokers to Quit
by Kurt Schweigman, MPH, California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB) 
In California, 30% of adult American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are current
smokers. (CHIS 2003) This rate is higher than all other racial groups. Since 2000,
the
California Rural Indian Health Board (CRIHB) has maintained a close relationship
with the Helpline to better serve the American Indian community.
With assistance from the Helpline and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada/California, CRIHB
developed a culturally specific two-sided brochure for American Indians living in
California. The image is of a young father and son who are members of the Washoe
Tribe. For a limited number of free brochures to distribute through your clinic,
organization, or for community events, contact Shelly Martinez at (916) 929-9761
or shelly.martinez@crihb.net
The partnership also includes cultural competency training for Helpline counselors
to better communicate with American Indian callers. The training curriculum evolved
from American Lung Association and CDC materials and input from Felicia Hodge, PhD,
Helpline staff and a 20-member Advisory Committee made up of AI community health
workers, educators, elders, youth and traditionalists. A California specific Resource
Guide for Assisting American Indian Smokers to Quit was created. The guide also
covers sacred tobacco use. American Indians are the only U.S. population with a
unique non-habitual relationship with tobacco for traditional cultural and medicinal
use. Since 2002, CRIHB staff have been presenting the Resource Guide to Helpline
counselors on a yearly basis.
The CRIHB/ Helpline collaboration is a nationwide model for how state quitlines
and AI/AN tobacco education programs can work together toward a common goal. The
CRIHB Tobacco Program, with funding and support through the CDC Office of Smoking
and Health, is currently using the California guide as a template for a national
guide. The goal of a national guide will be to create a web-based training for quitline
counselors.
The "Be Proactive" Program Expands to Indian Health Centers by MarķaElena Avila-Toledo, MPH and Tami MacAller, MPH, California Diabetes Program 
The California Diabetes Program in collaboration with the Helpline is currently implementing
the "Be Proactive - Help Your Patients Quit Smoking" Program in Indian Health Services
Health Center clinics statewide. The program's objective is to increase the number
of calls (or fax referrals) to the Helpline from members of the American Indian
community who smoke and have diabetes. The Be Proactive Program provides health
care providers with tools such as a time efficient and effective Ask, Advise, Refer
patient intervention and the "Gold Card" to motivate their patients to call the Helpline.
Indian Health Services has 41 health programs operating 85 medical clinics, not
including teen, mental health, or substance abuse treatment clinics. Area Health
Promotion Specialists from the California Diabetes Program are working with clinics
in their regions to participate in the Be Proactive Program. Diabetes staff collaborate
with clinic liaisons to implement commercial tobacco cessation interventions. They
are currently working with several Indian Health clinics including Riverside/San
Bernardino Indian Health, Tulare County's Tule River Indian Health Center, Lake
County Tribal Health Consortium and Mendocino County's Consolidated Inc.
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Thank You California Smokers' Helpline for Saving My Life!
My name is Cheryl and I am happy to say that I am a non-smoker! I smoked for over 25 years and tried numerous times to quit with and without patches. I saw a TV ad with a cartoon character that told me all I had to do was call. I smiled at first, but thought calling was like picking up a thousand pound phone to talk to someone I didn't know and admit that I needed help to quit smoking. I decided to call anyway and spoke to a Helpline counselor. When he told me about all of the poisons in cigarettes, my fear of losing what I thought was my comfort and so-called best friend stopped!
As a non-smoker, I breathe better, eat healthier, my face looks younger and I can
finally smell my own perfume. I found that keeping a journal about my triggers has
helped me as well. My heart thanks the Helpline too for making it healthier!
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The Helpline is proud to share and work with quitlines across the U.S., as well as
internationally. Recent activities include:
Helpline staff gave keynote addresses at the Oceania Tobacco Control Conference in Auckland, New Zealand and the 8th Asia Pacific Conference on Tobacco or Health in Taipei, Taiwan. We will also be presenting at the North American Quitline Consortium Annual Meeting and the National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Staff from the Helpline recently traveled to Mexico City to train 92 counselors in smoking cessation, as part of the launch of the new Mexican National Quitline. The intensive three-and-a-half-day training served to ensure that they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to provide effective counseling for tobacco cessation. Since California established the first statewide quitline in 1992, similar services have appeared in all states and provinces of the U.S. and Canada. Many of them have been modeled after the Helpline. With the launch of this new service in Mexico, quitlines are now broadly available across North America.
Recent publications:
Helpline staff teamed up with our USC colleague Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, to publish "Most Latino Smokers in California Are Low-Frequency Smokers" in the October issue of Addiction. We also described the active participation of young adults in Helpline services in "Reaching Young Adult Smokers Through Quitlines" in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health. |
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The Outreach team educates health care providers and organizations with a health
focus on the importance of tobacco cessation, while encouraging them to promote
Helpline services to their clients. In order to reach diverse populations, the team
partners with organizations representing communities with high smoking prevalence,
underserved communities and health care provider associations. The team includes:
If you have any questions or partnership ideas please contact us individually or at 858-300-1010 or email cshoutreach@ucsd.edu |
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Please visit our
website for more information and to order FREE materials.
This material was made possible
by funds received from the California Department of Health Services, under contract
#05-45834 and First 5 California, under contract #CCFC-6810.
California Smokers' Helpline Outreach Department
email:
cshoutreach@ucsd.edu
phone: 858-300-1010
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