Celebrate Good Times!

Here is a list of celebrations on Jan 2 for smokefree NC!

BUNCOMBE COUNTY
Activity: Bowling Event
When: Saturday, January 2, 2010 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
Where/Location: Star Lanes Bowling Center, 491 Kenilworth Road, Asheville, NC
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Contact information: Karen Caldwell (828) 250-5048 or karen.caldwell@buncombecounty.org
RSVPs: Requesting RSVP’s from public officials.

CRAVEN/PAMILCO COUNTIES
Activity: Pending
Coordinator: Nicole Jones
Organization: Craven/Pamlico County ASSIST Coalition
Contact Information: 252-636-4920 x 2019 or njones@cravencountync.gov

GUILFORD COUNTY
Activity: Bowling Event
When: Saturday, January 2, 2010
Where/Location: Gate City Lanes 5502 Hornaday Road
Greensboro NC 27409-2936
Time: All day (Coupon all day - buy one get one bowling) Party 3pm-8pm (tentative)
Contact information: Mary Gillett Office Phone: (336) 641-6000 or mgillet@co.guilford.nc.us

HI-TOP CONSORTIUM (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Swain, and Transylvania counties.)
Activity: Pending
Coordinator: Traci Clark, Hi-Top ASSIST Coordinator
Contact Information: 828-452-6675 or hitop9@verizon.net

MECKLENBURG COUNTY
Activity: South Park Mall and Eastland Mall Event. Free coffee and copies of the latest Tobacco Free Today magazine. Local elected officials will also be on site.
When: Saturday, January 2, 2010
Where/Location: South Park Mall and Eastland Mall Charlotte, NC
Time: South Park Mall 11am-1pm
Eastland Mall 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm
(On Sun. Jan 3 Smoke-Free Mecklenburg is sponsoring the Charlotte Checkers hockey game. Four (4) videos that be shown during the game, a table with information, and local elected officials will do the puck drop. The game starts at 2:00pm. at Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC)
Contact information: Lovemore Masakadza Office Phone: (704) 336-4660 lovemore.masakadza@carolinashealthcare.org

NEW HANOVER COUNTY
Activity: Pending
Organization: New Hanover /Brunswick/Pender ASSIST Coalition
Phone: (910) 798-6658
Email Address: emorrissette@nhcgov.com

NORTHWEST TOBACCO PREVENTION COALITION (Alleghany, Ashe, Caldwell, Watuaga Wilkes counties)
Activity: Pending
Coordinator: Teri VanDyke, ASSIST Coordinator
Organization: Northwest Tobacco Prevention Coalition
Contact Information: (828) 264-2995 or teriv@apphealth.com

WAKE COUNTY
Activity: Lunch Celebration
When: Saturday, January 2, 2010
Where/Location: Abbey Road Tavern & Grille,1195 W Chatham St, Cary, NC,
(919) 481-4434‎
Time: 12-2PM (tentative)
Contact information: Ronda Sanders Phone: (919)431-4026, Mobile: (919) 623-2280,
Email Address: ronda.sanders@wakegov.com
RSVPs: forward RSVPs to the above email address.

Other Organizations:

CABARRUS COUNTY
Activity: TRU Crews will hand deliver Thank You Notes to business being smoke free. Youth will wear
TRU crew T-shirts and take pictures in front of restaurants and business.
When: Saturday, January 2, 2010 (January 3rd also delivery a date)
Where/Location: Area smoke free businesses
Time: TBA
Contact information: Barbara Sheppard bksheppard2cabarrushealth.org
RSVPs: Activity not open to the public

CATAWBA COUNTY
Activity: Fresh Air Flapjack Breakfast Fundraiser (to benefit ACS and Catawba County Health Partners’ Cancer Task Force)
When: Saturday January 2, 2010 (tentative)
Where/Location: Applebee’s Bar and Grill, Hickory, NC
Time: 7:00 am-10:00 am
Location: Applebee’s Bar and Grill, Hickory, NC
Contact Information: Lindsey Smith/Jason Abernathy at 828-695-5817 or LindseyS@catawbacountync.gov
RSVP: Must RSVP to Lindsey Smith. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

MARTIN-TYRELL –WASHINGTON COUNTIES

Activity: Area restaurants, who wish to participate, will offer a random door prize or raffle a gift during their first day open following HB2. Restaurant participation is voluntary and as an incentive the restaurant name and gift offer will be listed in a funded newspaper advertisement.
When: Saturday January 2, 2010
Where/Location: List of restaurants TBA
Time: TBA
Contact information: John Fulk Phone: (252) 793-1630 or john.fulk@ncmail.net

SURRY COUNTY

Activity: TBA
When: Saturday January 2, 2010
Where/Location: TBA
Contact information: Donna Parks Phone: (336) 401-8413 or parksd@co.surry.nc.us

New Report Shows Room for Improvement in North Carolina Tobacco Prevention Funding

North Carolina’s tobacco prevention funding falls short of levels necessary to be effective, according to a new report released today by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and other health organizations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that North Carolina spend $106.8 million a year to have a successful, comprehensive tobacco prevention program. The state currently allocates only $20 million per year, which is 18.7 percent of the CDC-recommended level.

The report ranks North Carolina 24^th nationwide in tobacco prevention spending, up from 32^nd last year.

“North Carolina will not see a significant reduction in smoking rates until we make tobacco prevention a greater priority,” said David Goff, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention and professor of Public Health Sciences and Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

“Many smokers want to quit, and prevention and cessation programs are proven to help them give up tobacco permanently,” Goff continued. “The $107 million recommended by the CDC is a tiny fraction of the billions of dollars North Carolina loses each year to smoking-related health care costs. Making a small investment now in tobacco prevention could save billions of dollars and thousands of lives.”

“Although we’re making progress with smoke-free workplace laws, higher tobacco excise taxes and enactment of federal legislation to regulate the tobacco industry, we must do more to give smokers the tools and resources they need to kick this deadly habit,” commented Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. “State lawmakers have more than enough resources to make a huge difference in their communities. Now they must back their promises with real and immediate results.”

North Carolina receives millions of dollars per year from the 1998 tobacco settlement fund, which was intended to be used to combat smoking. The state will collect $428 million in settlement funds and tobacco taxes this year, of which just 4.7 percent is devoted to tobacco prevention programs. Conversely, tobacco companies spend $535.9 million each year to market their products to North Carolinians.

In North Carolina, 1.5 million adults smoke, leading to nearly 12,000 preventable deaths a year caused by smoking, and more than 1,000 deaths among non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke. This costs North Carolina taxpayers $2.46 billion in direct healthcare costs ($769 million in Medicaid expenses alone), and $3.3 billion in lost productivity annually.

Almost 12,000 North Carolina children become regular smokers each year, and 193,000 children alive today will die prematurely because of smoking.

The annual report on states’ funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 11 Years Later,” was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Equipment a good start; now bring back daily PE in NC

Here's a great post from one of our advocates!

Regarding the story, “Area schools eligible to apply for funding for PE equipment,” (AC-T, Oct. 13): I’m pleased to learn that Asheville area schools may soon get new equipment for physical education classes.

The latest statistics about childhood obesity are very alarming, and we need to be doing more to help kids be fit and healthy. Health experts say that children need quality physical education every day — at least 30 minutes a day for younger children and 45 minutes per day for high school students. But 62 percent of North Carolina students attend physical education classes only two days per week — or less. Meanwhile, our state has the 14th-highest childhood obesity rate in the nation. Having PE equipment won’t do any good if we don’t use it.

I appreciate Asheville school officials for trying to improve physical education. Now let’s hope they — along with state legislators — follow through and bring daily PE back to North Carolina schools.

Lee Storrow, Asheville