Sep 2006

Volume 5 Issue 8

September 2006

N-O-T News

Brought to you by The American Lung Association of West Virginia, The WV Bureau for Public Health Division of Tobacco Prevention and the West Virginia Department of Education

Click here for training opportunities

The N-O-T Advisory Council, which includes all RESA Regional Tobacco Prevention Specialist, The Department of Education, Bureau of Public Health Division of Tobacco Prevention, and the American Lung Association of West Virginia met on August 30th. At the meeting we decided to offer fall incentive bonus.

Any facilitator that starts a N-O-T Class before Oct 22, 2006 will receive an additional $50 mini-grant for your class AND Any N-O-T class that has turned in their evaluation packets (Evaluation packets must be received no later than your schools Winter Break or December 31, 2006 which ever is later). will receive an additional $50 bonus on top of the regular $250 stipend. That's a total of $300 per N-O-T class completed! Take action now since (as always) these stipends will only be offered while funding is available.

You can download the mini-grant request form from the internet at Mini-Grants (Click Here), or just give me a call and I can fax it to you

QUIT-N-FIT

Quit ‘N Fit is a study that is being conducted at the West Virginia Prevention Research Center. Quit ‘N Fit is a physical activity component that is designed to work with the N-O-T program. It was piloted in schools last spring. Beginning in the spring of 2007, Quit ‘N Fit will be tested to see if it is effective in not only helping youth quit smoking, but also in helping them become more physically active. If your school is interested in being part of the study, contact the Quit ‘N Fit Program Manager, Candice Hamilton at chamilton@hsc.wvu.edu or 304-293-5775 or me.

Thank you for your commitment to the youth of West Virginia.

Tony Richards

I also would like to congratulate all the early starters for this year! The following schools are already providing N-O-T & ATS programs in their schools this year.

Don’t forget to order your student journals at least one week before your program is scheduled to start.

Another way of getting incentives is community donations. Explain to local businesses that you are trying to help teens stop smoking, and you will get anything from pizza to sodas donated. This is an excellent way of forming education/community partnerships.

The West Virginia Department of Education’s continued support of the N-O-T program is allowing us to once again provide the $250 stipend for N-O-T classes and $100 stipends for ATS classes. Please remember that stipends are only awarded after all evaluation materials have been returned, unlike the $50 mini-grants that are provided before you begin your sessions.

Mini-Grants

$50 mini-grants are available to get your groups started. The mini-grant can be used to purchase pencils, stress balls and most importantly, food! We have heard many times, “If you feed them, they will come!” Applying for the mini-grant is easy click HERE.

Another positive incentive are the $250 stipends, which are available for facilitators after all evaluation materials have been returned to ALAWV.

Student Journals

Program expenses are kept to a minimum since we provide all required handouts for students in this “journal.” Blank pages are provided for the students to write on.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Department of Education Office Of Healthy schools we now have $100 stipends available for facilitators who use the ATS program in their schools.

You can find all these resources and more at our web site click here à N-O-T

The RESA Tobacco Prevention Program serves as the regional liaison with the school districts to provide training, technical assistance, and staff development to teachers and staff in the areas of tobacco prevention, education and cessation. Available programs include Life Skills Training, Raze/TATU (Teens Against Tobacco) N-O-T (Not On Tobacco-a research-based cessation program for teens), related youth programs which include tobacco prevention initiatives, tobacco policy considerations and community tobacco prevention coalitions and groups. The Tobacco Prevention Specialist can assist with developing alternatives to suspension programs, youth empowerment and prevention activities. The primary focus is to provide training and technical assistance on any implementation activities as well as provide assistance to County Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinators.

Community Development Specialists are trained professionals who work locally in their communities to enhance West Virginia’s prevention system. They provide individuals, families, agencies, organizations, and other groups with technical assistance and training to build capacity for sustainable community-based prevention efforts. To find your Community Development Specialist click here.

If you know of something happening with the N-O-T program that you feel other facilitators would benefit from, please call Tony (304)342-6600 or email tony@alawv.org. The newsletter will be published once a month.

If you are interested in our programs and would like more information, or would like to schedule a visit, please call our office.

New Website “TheScoopOnSmoking” was designed to present in a highly accessible, interactive manner, detailed facts about the health consequences of tobacco use.

Too often teens (and adults) are simply told that using tobacco -- particularly smoking cigarettes -- is "dangerous." Even the government-mandated warning label gives only a few words of caution -- all in very general terms. But the devil is in the details. ACSH's site -- which is based on a teen-version of ACSH's classic publication "Cigarettes: What the Warning Label Doesn't Tell You: The First Comprehensive Guide to the Health Consequences of Smoking" -- gives specific details of tobacco's deleterious impact on every site of the body and every organ system.

This site gives the updated list of present WV state education policies, including WV tobacco policy.

This site has several links for Teens and Kids. It also has important research data and report links. This is also a good site to link up to sources for supplemental information as well as getting information on different CDC publications.

This site is a “kid friendly” information filled site. It would be a good site to bring to the attention of the kids participating in the N-O-T program.

This site is an informative site which has both adult and kid friendly information.

This site contains information as well as posters, pamphlet, and other materials that could be ordered.

This site gives detailed information about nicotine and smoking. Within the narrative, it has links to a glossary, bibliography, and additional information.

This is the parent-teacher association page. It may be a valuable source to get information from other schools and school associations.

This site gives information on tobacco and links as well as other information on other drug related issues.

This site give nutritional and dietary information, e.g., food pyramid, introduction to eating healthy, etc.

The international association of college and university –based peer education programs focuses on substance abuse prevention and other student health and safety issues.