Kick Butts Day - April 2nd

Many of you have events and activities planned for Kick Butts Day on April 2nd but if not, it's not too late to plan. Check out http://www.kickbuttsday.org/ for tons of resources.

Kick Butts Day is an annual national celebration of youth tobacco-use prevention efforts and activities sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

This would be a great way to reward your program participants and get them involved as tobacco use prevention activists!

Gov. Kaine Announces Restaurant Smoking Ban Legislation

You can visit the Governor's web site and click on News Releases. Or you can go directly to the release.

Governor Kaine Web Site
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/

News Release from Governor Kaine
http://www.governor.virginia.gov/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/viewRelease.cfm?id=579

Virginians for a Healthy Future Coalition

The BLOG address shown below is from the American Lung Association. This site provides valuable information on smoke-free issues, news in Virginia, and particularly this General Assembly session.

http://blog.smokefreevanow.org/

VTSF Overview Video

Please take a few minutes to view the new VTSF Video by clicking on the link below. This video provides a wonderful overview of the Foundation and all that we do.

Feel free to share this BLOG site with any organization that you think may have an interest.

http://www.vtsf.org/index.asp

Smoking Bans and Cigarette Tax Increases

It's a New Year and Smoking Bans and Cigarette Tax Increases are going into effect all over the country!

Illinois: Statewide ban goes into effect Jan. 1.
Colorado: Statewide ban extends to casinos Jan. 1.
Kansas: Kansas City suburbs' smoking bans go into effect Jan. 1 & 2, pressuring Kansas City itself.
Maryland: Baltimore smoking ban goes into effect. Jan. 1.
Texas: McKinney, Sugar Land and Fort Worth restaurant smoking bans go into effect Jan. 1.
California: Smoking ban in cars with kids goes into effect Jan. 1.
Wisconsin: $1/pack cigarette tax hike goes into effect. Jan. 1, raising tax to $1.77.
Maryland: $1/pack cigarette tax hike goes into effect. Jan. 1, raising tax to $2.

Share Your Program

Take pride in your programs and share the good news. Provide me with a write-up of your program, graduation or special celebration along with photos (if available) and I'll post it to the BLOG. Other grantees love hearing about your successes and I love to share them with others.

Best Practices: Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs

These are some highlights from the recently released Best Practices document from the CDC. Follow this link to find the complete CDC document: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/tobacco_control_programs/stateandcommunity/best_practices/index.htm

The more states spend on comprehensive tobacco control programs, the greater the reductionsin smoking—and the longer states invest in such programs, the greater and faster the impact.Evidence-based statewide tobacco control programs that are comprehensive, sustained, andaccountable have been shown to reduce the number of tobacco-related deaths and disease.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the recommended level of investment for tobacco prevention and control in Virginia is $103.2 million per year, or $13.50 per capita.

In Virginia, an estimated 9,300 adults are projected to die each year from smoking.For each person who dies, another 20 people are suffering with at least one serioustobacco-related illness.
If current smoking rates among people younger than age 18 continue, an estimated 152,000 of these Virginia youth are projected to die from smoking.