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Good morning,
As was mentioned in the December Monthly Memo, we are excited to announce another free service to help youth quit vaping. This is Quitting is a text-based service for Kentuckians ages 13 to 24. Young people who want to enroll in This is Quitting should text KENTUCKY to 88709.
The Cabinet for Health & Family Servicesâ press release about this service (below) went out this morning, so you may begin to see media inquiries about it over the next few days.
It is important to emphasize that This is Quitting does not replace either of our existing free services for quitting tobacco. We still encourage people of all ages to useQuit Now Kentucky and people under 18 to use My Life, My Quit. This is Quitting is just a third option to help us ensure that everyone can find a service that meets their needs. This document explains the differences between Quit Now Kentucky, My Life, My Quit, and This is Quitting.
Feel free to share the press release below, our Quitting Tobacco webpage, or the post(s) on our Facebook page.
If you have any questions about This is Quitting or Kentuckyâs other free quitlines, please contact Cessation Administrator Heather Shaw.
Ellen H. Cartmell, MPA
Communications Specialist
Kentucky Department for Public Health
She/Her/Hers
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FREE TEXT SERVICE TO HELP YOUNG KENTUCKIANS QUIT VAPING
Service Touted as New Federal Law Impacting Tobacco Sales Takes Effect
FRANKFORT, Ky. (1/9/20) â The Kentucky Department for Public Health, within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, encourages teens and young adults who want to quit vaping to get free help from This Is Quitting, a nationwide texting service. CHFS and DPH officials say cessation services such as This Is Quitting are critical for young people and emphasized that many will be impacted by the recent federal law increasing the legal age to purchase tobacco and vaping products to 21.
This is Quitting was developed by Truth Initiative and is being promoted directly to Kentuckians through a collaboration with DPH. The service is intended for young people ages 13 to 24, and is tailored by age group to give appropriate recommendations about quitting vaping. It was developed with input from young people who have already attempted to or succeeded in quitting e-cigarettes. Participants should text KENTUCKY to 88709 to enroll in the program, which provides up to nine weeks of coaching.
CHFS Acting Secretary Eric Friedlander said quitting tobacco, nicotine, or vaping products will improve your health at any age, and with the resources offered through DPH and other providers, it takes just a few steps to be on the path toward quitting.
âIn light of a recent federal law increasing the age of legal tobacco sales to 21, we know many young people will need support giving up tobacco and e-cigarette products,â he said. âThis Is Quitting is a great resource specifically created to help young people quit using e-cigarettes and we are very happy to partner with the Truth Initiative to help more young Kentuckians lead healthier lives.
âMany young people who started vaping now want to quit, but they donât know how,â said Dr. Amanda Graham, Chief of Innovations at Truth Initiative. âThe fact that young people are setting a quit date the day they enroll shows that they are eager to break free from vaping. Our program allows them to get support discreetly and anonymously without having to disclose to an adult that they are vaping.â
Young people who enroll in This is Quitting will receive one support text per day leading up to the day they quit vaping, and for at least 60 days after their âquit date.â For those not ready to commit to quitting but who are still interested in learning more, This is Quitting will send at least four weeks of messages focused on building skills and confidence to prepare for quitting. In addition to their scheduled messages, participants can also receive on-demand support for cravings, stress, and set-backs in their quitting journey.
According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, more than 53 percent of Kentuckyâs high schoolers have ever used an e-cigarette. More than half of those students are current users. By comparison, around 30 percent of Kentucky high schoolers have ever smoked a traditional cigarette, and approximately 9 percent are current smokers.
âE-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among Kentucky youth,â said DPH Health Promotion Section Supervisor Elizabeth Anderson-Hoagland. âWhile we absolutely do not want any teen to start vaping, we also want to make sure weâre providing resources to help them quit.â
Quitting vaping can be challenging because almost all e-cigarettes contain nicotine, the same addictive chemical found in cigarettes and other tobacco products. One JUUL pod contains as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes. A 2018 Truth Initiative study found that 63 percent of youth and young adult JUUL-users did not know that the product always contains nicotine.
This is Quitting and DPHâs other free tobacco-cessation resources like My Life, My Quit and Quit Now Kentucky are especially important for teens and young adults, for whom nicotine is particularly detrimental. The U.S. Surgeon General has reported that nicotine exposure is particularly dangerous in adolescents because it can âprime the brain for addiction to other drugs such as cocaine.â
This is Quitting also comes alongside DPH and the CDCâs investigation into the nationwide outbreak of e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury (EVALI). More than 2,400 people across the country have been hospitalized with serious respiratory issues as a result of using e-cigarettes, though the exact cause of their injuries remains unknown. More than 50 patients have died as a result of this outbreak. Many of those affected are young people, probably because they are more likely to vape than other age groups.
DPH provides updated EVALI information at https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/dmch/hpb/Pages/pdinfo.aspx.
Truth Initiative launched This is Quitting nationwide in January 2019 and has since enrolled over 70,000 teens and young adults. Peer-reviewed research on the program has revealed that more than 60 percent of participants reported they had reduced or completely stopped using e-cigarettes after just two weeks. CHFS will be promoting This is Quitting on college campuses and through its social media accounts.
Truth Initiative is a nonprofit tobacco control organization that focuses on helping youth and young adults in America stop using tobacco products. âQuitting e-cigarettes can be isolating for young people,â added Graham. âText messaging is a proven, powerful strategy to deliver interventions that drive behavior change. Weâve taken input directly from young people and positioned This is Quitting as a supportive, non-judgmental friend, with text messages written in the first person or as quotes from other users.â
Flyers and palm cards with the text code and number will be distributed to schools and other community partners across Kentucky who engage with youth and young adults. For more information about the program or to request materials contact DPH Tobacco Cessation Administrator Heather Shaw at [email protected] or (502) 564-9358 ext. 4017.
Additional information is available at http://chfs.ky.gov/.
My name is Jerrad Ohr I'm writing to you to announce a scholarship that my law firm is sponsoring for students in 2020. The scholarship is to help any student who has been impacted by being seriously injured (or by a family member being seriously injured).
To apply, students must write a 750-1,000 word essay in response to the following prompt:
"Write an essay explaining in detail how a serious accident involving you, a family member, or a close friend has impacted your life. This could have been a car crash, a slip-and-fall accident, a work-related injury, or any other serious accident. How has this injury impacted your college plans?"The deadline to apply for this scholarship is J
uly 20, 2020. Submissions will open on Jan 1, 2020. The winner of the scholarship will be awarded $1,000 to help pay for college-related expenses.
If you could possibly share this scholarship with your students, I'd appreciate it. We are trying to get some more applicants this year.
You can see the scholarship information here:
www.rosenohrlaw.com/scholarshipHope your week is going great so far.
Thank you!
Jerrad Ohr
[email protected]