San Francisco Ordinance on Toys in Childrens Meals

While reviewing some information on the San Francisco ordinance, I ran across a few articles that are interesting and thought I'd pass them along.....

www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A16PR20101102

www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2030383,00.html

www.calorielab.com/news/2010/11/05/san-francisco-happy-meal-law/

Proposed Cigarette Warning Labels

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA) requires that cigarette packages and advertisements have larger and more visable graphic health warnings.

www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/CigaretteProductWarningLabels/default.htm

Prevention Connections School Vending program

The Prevention Connections Vending program is accepting applications for up to 75 mini-grants for $500 each. The mini-grants are to support a healthy vending initiative in Virginia Title I middle schools as well as high schools with at least a 40% enrollment in the school's free and reduced lunch program.

This is a great opportunity for schools/students to look at what is offered in their vending machines during the school day.

To apply, visit http://www.preventionconnections.org

Walk to School Event

VFHY is mentioned the Times-Dispatch article on the Walk to School Event.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/oct/07/walk07-ar-547206/

5 Worst Kids’ Meals in America

Men's Health Magazine published a very informative article about unhealthy meals for kids.
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/worst-kids-meals

It also includes links to other sites such as:

The World's Fastest and Easiest Exercise Tips
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/100-best-fitness-tips/index.php?cm_mmc=Yahoo-_-ETNT-_-Worst_Kids_Foods-_-100_Best_Fitness_Tips

The Absolutely Worst Drinks in America
http://eatthis.womenshealthmag.com/slideshow/20-worst-drinks-america-2010%20?cm_mmc=Yahoo-_-ETNT-_-Worst_Kids_Foods-_-Worst_Drinks_Updated

30 Saltiest Foods in America
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/30-saltiest-foods-america?cm_mmc=Yahoo-_-ETNT-_-Worst_Kids_Foods-_-Saltiest_Foods%20

Best and Worst Chips and Dips

http://www.menshealth.com/cda/custom.do?incFile=etntnl.jsp&cm_mmc=Yahoo-_-ETNT-_-Worst_Kids_Foods-_-Shop_Once_NL

You can also sign up for a FREE Eat This, Not That newsletter.
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/custom.do?incFile=etntnl.jsp&cm_mmc=Yahoo-_-ETNT-_-Worst_Kids_Foods-_-Shop_Once_NL

Surviving Abundance: Overweight Kids in Crisis

A half hour documentary, produced by WHRO, examines the epidemic of childhood obesity. Childhood health professionals paint a grim picture for the future of overweight children unless we begin to make systemic changes that support more healthy choices. Local, state and national childhood health experts, including William H. Dietz, Jr., MD, PhD, Director of Nutrition & Physical Activity at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, discuss steps we can take to turn the tide, and the program highlights organizations with exemplary programs which encourage healthier lifestyles.

http://www.whro.org/home/cfc/productions/survivingAbundance.htm

Whether a Child Lights Up, or Chows Down

There is an interesting article that was posted in the New York Times on July 9th.

(Click on the link below.)

Youth Smoking or Youth Obesity???

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/weekinreview/11kolata.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=obesity&st=cse

Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition

The Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition

Presents

Let's Clear the Air: New Developments in Tobacco Cessation

Spring 2010 Coalition Meeting & Exhibitors Cafe

Guest Speaker: Linda C. Hancock, FNP, PhD
Director of the Wellness Resource Center, Virginia Commonwealth University

Date: Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Time: 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Location: James City-Williamsburg Community Center

School Foods at the Forefront of Research, Initiatives

More than one in three middle school students who regularly eat school lunches are obese or overweight. They're also more likely to have high LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels than kids who bring lunch from home.

The research suggests that efforts to provide healthier choices on school lunch menus still have a long way to go, says Elizabeth Jackson, MD, MPH, assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. ...

Kids who bring lunch from home less likely to be overweight.

The study involved 1,076 middle school students who filled out questionnaires asking what they ate, how much physical activity they got, and the number of hours they watched TV, played video games, and spent on the computer each day. ...

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. Compared with kids who brought lunch from home, those who ate school lunches were more likely to be overweight or obese (38.2% vs. 24.7%); were more likely to eat two or more servings of fatty meats like fried chicken or hot dogs daily (6.2% vs. 1.6%); were more likely to have two or more sugary drinks a day (19% vs. 6.8%); were less likely to eat at least two servings of fruits a day (32.6% vs. 49.4%); were less likely to eat at least two servings of vegetables a day (39.9% vs. 50.3%); and, had higher levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol.

READ MORE

Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth is Now on Facebook

If you are a member, please consider joining our Fan Page.

Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/yaz5qx7

We will be posting updates on tobacco and obesity prevention.

New Commericals Coming Soon

Click the link below to view the latest and greatest ads from VFHY.

http://www.healthyyouthva.org/vtsf/marketing/commercials.asp

Regional Trainings

The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth is hosting trainings across the sate. The trainings are open to anyone in the field of prevention. Each training workshop is a day-long and only costs $25! The $25 includes the cost of the training and a continental breakfast and lunch. Below is the list of the trainings for March and April. To register, click on the following link: http://www.healthyyouthva.org/training/

The Training Opportunities page will be displayed listing all available workshops with dates and locations. To review the course descriptions and register, either click on the course title or the MORE INFORMATION & REGISTRATION link. Simply fill in the requested information and click on the submit button.

March 30 - Richmond - Advanced Cultural Competency
March 31 - Richmond - Advanced Prevention
April 7 - Roanoke - Advanced Prevention
April 8 - Richmond - Measuring Youth Program Outcomes
April 13 - Northern Va - Assessing Student Learning
April 14 - Richmond - Assessing Student Learning
April 14 - Richmond - Fidelity Based Adaptations
April 20 - Richmond - Youth Helping Youth
April 27 - Tidewater Area - Facilitation Skills
April 28 - Richmond - How To Make Tobacco A Priority Issue
April 29 - Roanoke - Identitying the Potential of Youth
April 30 – Roanoke - Managing Behaviors In Youth Programs

Southeast Regional Advisory Board Members

The Regional Advisory Board Members from across the state recently met to discuss current future funding, program status and to receive updated training for the current proposal process.

All Board members were recognized for their outstanding service to the Foundation. Congratulations to all members for your service - You are all greatly appreciated!!

In attendance: Kathleen Watson, Cindy Palmaz, Terrina Thomas, Kristina Beavers, Renee Rountree, Robert Alpino, Janis Dauer, Sandra Riggin, Steve Kast, Joee Hoxter, Martha Muniz, Brenda Holden, Anthony Armistead and John Mack. Absent: Michelle Donovan and Lisa Newman

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution

For those who haven’t heard, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver will be hosting a new show called “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” which premieres Friday March 26 at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Jamie Oliver is here to start a revolution. The impassioned chef is taking on obesity, heart disease and diabetes in the USA, where our nation's children are the first generation NOT expected to live as long as their parents. Now that's scary!

Jamie is inviting viewers to take a stand and change the way America eats, in our home kitchens, schools and workplaces with the thought-provoking new series, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, which debuts FRIDAY, MARCH 26 9/8c on ABC. In the six-part series, Jamie heads to Huntington, West Virginia. Why? Well, Huntington has been called the unhealthiest city in America. Jamie wants to do something about that. Through his efforts in this one town, he hopes to start a chain reaction of positive change across the country.

For more information visit the show's web site:
http://abc.go.com/shows/jamie-olivers-food-revolution

Play is an important part of childhood

LIPause for a moment and remember how you played as a child.

Did you make mud pies, build forts, hold tea parties with imaginary friends or play kickball, baseball or some other sport in the backyard or a nearby empty lot?

Whatever you did to "make" your own fun, do your children have similar opportunities?

Leaders of the Alliance for Childhood, a national nonprofit organization of health professionals and educators, believe play helps children develop socially, academically and physically.

These days, said Joan Almon, executive director of the Maryland-based Alliance, which focuses on children's health and well-being, many consider childhood play unimportant. Yet the Alliance believes unstructured, imaginative play can help grow a successful adult.

The organization also believes play will be critical to curbing childhood obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 9 million American children ages 6 to 19 are overweight or obese.

First lady Michelle Obama launched a campaign this month called "Let's Move" to combat childhood obesity; however, the Alliance says play is the missing ingredient.

Play does not include time spent in front of the computer, mastering video games or participating in organized sports, Almon said.

"Video games have a playful element, but most games do not really spark children's creativity, and that's one of the things authentic play does -- their imagination gets stronger, their social capacity gets stronger, their aggression levels go down," she said.

Organized sports can be great, she said, but the kids are being directed by adults.
"The way children used to play sports, they created rules or adapted rules as they needed to. What we have now is children starting at a young age to become competitive, so that in adolescence or even in college, when their bodies are really ready for sports, too many are burned out."

The Alliance advocates that children have at least 60 minutes of unstructured play every day.
Parents can make play a priority by:

•Getting children outside. Take them to the park or the backyard and let them run free while you enjoy a book.

•Cutting back on media (such as TV and video games) and reading fairy tales, myths and legends that get their imagination going.

•Giving them materials with which they can create fun stuff -- hammers, nails and plywood for older children to build a fort or tree house; sheets and clothespins to make a tent; ropes, cardboard boxes, etc.

•Allowing them to fill their own time during play dates with made-up games or activities.
It may take courage on a parent's part to pull back from some structured extracurricular activities to make this happen, but the long-term benefits will be worthwhile, she said.

"Today's children are being asked to behave in very grown-up ways and not being given the chance for the natural experience of childhood. They need time for play and for reflection. You get to know yourself and the world around you in childhood, through the informal lessons in life that sometimes come through play."

Stacy Hawkins Adams
Richmond Times-Dispatch

VCU researcher says electronic cigarettes don’t deliver the nicotine they promise

One of the hottest new alternatives to smoking -- electronic cigarettes -- may deliver little of the nicotine they promise, a study at Virginia Commonwealth University is finding.

And because they lack the jolt of tobacco cigarettes, users may be modifying the electronic devices to deliver more toxic nicotine, VCU researcher Thomas Eissenberg said yesterday.

The study, to be presented this month at an academic conference, also suggests that e-cigarettes, when used according to directions, don't suppress the craving to smoke very much, Eissenberg said.

"These data scream out for the need for regulation of these devices," said Eissenberg, who is director of VCU's Clinical Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory.

"They say they are giving people nicotine, but based on our study, with the two brands we looked at and tested the way we did, that's not clear."

Nicotine is the addictive compound that hooks tobacco users.

E-cigarettes use small heaters to vaporize a mix of nicotine and alcohol, usually propylene glycol, a common ingredient in antifreeze, for a smoker to inhale. Because e-cigarettes do not burn tobacco leaf, users believe they avoid the toxins and cancer-causing compounds in cigarette smoke.

"There's millions of people who use e-cigarettes, and he's studied 16," said Amy A. Linert, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Cigarette Association.

Eissenberg tested nicotine in the smokers' blood streams

He said the results from the first 16 were so surprising that he fired off a letter to the journal Tobacco Control with his preliminary findings. The letter is being published in this month's edition of the journal. He'll present the full results to the Society for Research in Nicotine and Tobacco this month.

His blood tests found smokers averaged 16.8 nanograms of nicotine per milliliter of blood plasma five minutes after smoking conventional cigarettes, but only 2.5 nanograms or 3.4 nanograms with the e-cigarette devices.

While nicotine affects heartbeat, he noticed an increase only after his subjects smoked tobacco but not after using the e-cigarettes.

The only significant reduction in craving for a cigarette came, briefly, after his subjects tried one variety of e-cigarette within an hour of their first attempt.

"We have hundreds of thousands of customers, and their collective experience and purchasing decisions strongly indicate that our products meet the needs of people interested in an alternative to combustible, smoke-producing cigarettes," said Jack Leadbeater, chief executive officer of NJOY, the company that made one of the two devices Eissenberg tested.

Leadbeater said half his company's sales are to repeat customers, and that 94 percent of customers say they continued using the product after their first trial.

Eissenberg said he's concerned about how people are using the devices.
"If people are reporting what they are reporting about cravings, the data suggest it's not because of the drugs in the device," he said.

But Eissenberg said he's concerned about comments he has seen on blogs that some e-cigarette users are "dripping," or letting liquid from the devices' cartridges fall directly onto the heating element.

That means they may be getting relatively large doses of nicotine, which can be toxic in amounts of about 50 milligrams, Eissenberg said.

While the cartridges contain 16 milligrams, they can be refilled from bottles labeled as containing 500 milligrams, or 10 times the toxic dose, he said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has seized imports of e-cigarettes, saying they are unapproved drug-delivery devices. NJOY and another firm are challenging those seizures in federal court.

Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell Joins First Lady Michelle Obama at “Taking on Childhood Obesity” Event in Alexandria Yesterday

ALEXANDRIA - Virginia First Lady Maureen McDonnell joined First Lady Michelle Obama to kick-off Mrs. Obama’s “Taking on Childhood Obesity” initiative yesterday. The event was held at the YMCA in Alexandria. Also in attendance were Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Dr. Judith Palfrey, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Both Mrs. McDonnell and Mrs. Obama are advocates for childhood obesity prevention and the importance of teaching children how to live an active lifestyle and eat healthy.

Speaking about Mrs. McDonnell at yesterday’s event, Mrs. Obama remarked, “Let me begin by thanking the new First Lady in the room, Maureen McDonnell. We are going to have a great time working together. She is already very engaged and supportive of these initiatives. And since she's so close I am counting on her to work alongside on some of these issues.”

Mrs. McDonnell has long been an advocate for living a healthy lifestyle. Raising five children, she always stressed the importance of staying active and eating right. Last week, Mrs. McDonnell participated in the First Annual Healthy Youth Day in Richmond, sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, where she spoke with children about physical fitness and healthy living habits. As First Lady, Maureen McDonnell will make childhood obesity prevention one of her chief initiatives.

For more information about yesterday’s event, please visit First Lady Michelle Obama’s website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/first-lady-michelle-obama


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Branding ban on cigarette packs?

LONDON (Reuters) – The UK government launched plans on Monday to halve the number of smokers by the end of the decade and said it would consider removing branding from cigarette packets and banning cigarette vending machines.

At the moment, 21 percent of the population smoke and ministers want to reduce that figure to 10 percent by 2020, with a particular focus on young people.

"We've come so far and now we'll go even further -- to push forward and save even more lives," said Health Secretary Andy Burnham.

"One day, in the not too distant future, we'll look back and find it hard to remember why anyone ever smoked in the first place."

The number of people lighting up in Britain has fallen by a quarter in the past decade as a result of various policies including a ban on advertising, putting grisly pictures on packets and raising the age of sale for tobacco to 18.

In 2007, the government joined several others throughout the world in introducing a ban on smoking in virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces.

But despite falling smoking rates, the number of deaths attributed to smoking is still 80,000 a year.

Now restrictions will be reviewed to see if they should be extended to include entrances to buildings so non-smokers do not have to run a gauntlet of smokers.

The government is looking at protecting children from second-hand smoke by promoting smoke-free homes and cars.

Ministers are also to consider the case for plain packaging, and banning the sale of tobacco from vending machines as part of the moves to deter young people.

"Now that we've banned advertising and will soon see an end to attractive displays in shops, the only remaining method of advertising tobacco is the packaging," Burnham said.

"So we will carefully consider whether there is evidence for making tobacco companies use plain packets."

(Reporting by Avril Ormsby, Michael Holden and Kate Kelland; Editing by Steve Addison)

Smokeless-Tobacco Use By 12th Graders Hits 11-Year High

Smokeless-Tobacco Use By 12th Graders Hits 11-Year High
By Richard Craver, Media General News Service

The use of smokeless-tobacco products reached an 11-year high among 12th graders nationwide in 2009, according to the annual Monitoring the Future study released yesterday. The study by University of Michigan researchers found that 8.4 percent of 12th graders used the products within a 30-day period - the highest level since 8.8 percent in 1998.

The rate had been as low as 6.1 percent in 2006 and was 6.5 percent in 2008.The rate of use among 8th graders rose from 3.5 percent in 2008 to 3.7 percent in 2009, while the use among 10th graders increased from 5 percent to 6.5 percent. By comparison, 20.1 percent of 12th graders said they smoked within a 30-day period compared with 20.4 percent in 2008.

The study, in its 35th year, included 46,097 8th, 10th and 12th graders from 389 schools. It also showed that marijuana use is becoming more popular among U.S. teens and that they have cut down on binge drinking and using methamphetamine.

The study comes on the heels of a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month that showed that more local high-school students were using marijuana than smoking cigarettes. Most researchers and analysts say that it is too soon to tell whether the combination of new smokeless-tobacco products, particularly at subsidiaries of Reynolds American Inc., and recent prominent advertising in magazines played a prominent role in the increases in the use of smokeless-tobacco products.

But the report is likely to stoke further debate between two sets of anti-smoking groups. One set says smokeless tobacco serves as gateway products for teenagers to cigarettes. The other set encourages the products as a way to reduce the risk of tobacco use compared with cigarettes.

"These new products no doubt appeal to kids because they are easy to conceal, carry the names of youth-popular cigarette brands, and come in candy-like forms and flavors," said Matthew Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "More than 60 percent of smokeless marketing is spent on price discounts, including coupons, that make smokeless tobacco products more affordable and appealing to price-sensitive youth customers."

Among the more outspoken proponents of smokeless-tobacco products as reduced-risk alternatives has been Bill Godshall, the executive director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania. "It appears that more youth smokers, like adult smokers, are beginning to substitute smokeless tobacco for cigarettes," Godshall said. "Since cigarettes are 100 times more hazardous than smokeless tobacco, public health benefits every time a smoker switches to smokeless, regardless of age."

The increased marketing of smokeless tobacco likely has had some effect on teenagers, said Dr. John Spangler, a professor of family and community medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Spangler is involved in federally funded research aimed at developing strategy for reducing use or even quitting smokeless-tobacco products.

"It should be noted that research does not support the concept that people will quit smoking by switching to smokeless," Spangler said. "In fact, there is a very high risk that smokers who turn to smokeless tobacco become dual users of cigarettes and oral tobacco." David Howard, a Reynolds spokesman, said that "it is a guiding principle of the company that youth should not use tobacco products. All of our marketing communications are designed for, and communicate with, adult tobacco consumers."

Although it was the 10th time in the past 12 years that the smoking rate among 12th graders declined, anti-tobacco advocates said they are concerned by the marginal drop. That's because the number of adults who smoke rose from 19.7 percent in 2007 to 20.6 percent - or 46 million Americans - in 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."The proportions of students seeing a great risk associated with being a smoker has leveled off in the past several years," Johnston said.

One factor in the continuing decline of cigarette smoking among teenagers may be hormonal - 81 percent of 8th graders, 80 percent of 10th graders and 75 percent of 12th graders said "they would prefer to date people who don't smoke." "It is clear that any young person today who becomes a smoker will pay an important social price for that choice by becoming less attractive to the great majority of the opposite sex," the researchers said.

Source: Monitoring the Future study by University of Michigan researcher

The FDA Directs Tobacco Companies to Disclose Cigarette Ingredients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has directed cigarette companies to provide detailed information on their products by June, when the agency for the first time will begin studying the composition of cigarettes in detail, the Associated Press reported Jan. 18.
Tobacco companies also must give the FDA any research they have conducted on the effects of cigarette ingredients.
The FDA will classify the ingredients, determine their relative harm, and possibly ban some ingredients or combinations thereof. Information protected under trade-secret laws won't be publicly disclosed, but the FDA is mandated to publish a list of harmful and potentially dangerous ingredients by the middle of next year.
"Tobacco products today are really the only human-consumed product that we don't know what's in them," said Lawrence R. Deyton, the director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products.

From www.jointogether.org