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

Upcoming N-O-T Training:

Dec. 8, 2004, RESA III, Dunbar

Jan. 26, 2005 RESA VII Clarksburg

I would like to congratulate the following facilitators for providing the N-O-T & ATS programs in their schools.

	Not On Tobacco Clinics
RESA	Location	Point of Contact
2	Cabell-Midland High School	Victoria Carovillano
5	Ripley Middle School	Lisa Moles
2	Wayne High School	Stephanie May
3	Scott High School	Kevin Graley
	Alternative to Suspension Clinics
RESA	Location	Point of Contact
3	Madison Middle School	Terry Clay
3	Sherman Junior High	Caroline Hatfield
5	Ripley High School	Kelley Spencer Adcock
3	South Charleston High School	Cil Payne
3	Nitro High School	Denise Ohlsen Koster
4	Oak Hill High School	Marian Richardson
4	Montgomery Middle School	Dale Fox

“Too many children are still targeted by big tobacco. Now is not the time abandon the truth® campaign”

Statement of John L. Kirkwood, President and CEO, American Lung Association

Now is not the time to abandon the truth® campaign, because, the truth is that tobacco companies still market to kids. Too many children and teens are still targeted by big tobacco. Each year, the tobacco industry spends in excess of $11 billion to market its deadly product. Every day 6,000 children under 18 start to smoke for the first time, close to 2,000 of them become established daily smokers. This is intolerable. The earlier a smoker starts, the more likely he or she is to die from tobacco use. Now is not the time to abandon the truth® campaign.

The truth® campaign is key to the work being done across the nation to reduce tobacco addiction. Coupled with meaningful policy change that has increased cigarette taxes and eliminated smoking in public places in many communities and states, the truth® campaign’s message has hit the mark with teens, using unique language and imagery that teens understand. The truth® campaign is edgy, pointed, sometimes funny and often deadly serious but always tells the truth® about the tobacco industry.

The American Legacy Foundation took the truth® to the teens of America. The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between 46 states and the tobacco industry compelled payments that endowed the Legacy Foundation to fund an education campaign -- the truth® campaign. The clear intent was for this to be a sustained approach. Despite public pronouncements, the tobacco industry has not truly changed. It is still marketing to kids. The unvarnished truth® provided an effective, creative counter punch to the Marlboro Man. Still, more than 1 in 4 high school students smoke. We need the truth® to maintain the fight. We need the truth® to confront the next class of kids susceptible to tobacco.

At the time of the Master Settlement, the attorneys general repeatedly stated publicly that reducing teen smoking was the goal. We understood that in order to sustain this effort, the education campaign would have to continue. We call on the state attorneys general to amend the Master Settlement Agreement to continue to fund the truth® campaign. The courts should compel the industry to fulfill the intent of the Master Settlement Agreement and fund the effective truth® campaign.

REMINDERS

Don’t forget to order your student journals at least one week before your clinic is scheduled to start. You can place your journal order online at the same time you request your $50 mini-grant!

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.

STIPENDS

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.

Fundraising Opportunity

The American Lung Association of West Virginia has purchased some adorable miniature plush stuffed bears. Some of you have seen the bears at various events and we have been using them as door prizes, etc. Our Chief Executive Officer Sara Crickenberger is making them available to you as a possible fundraising vehicle for your groups. Your cost for the bears will be $4 each. We have five different colors blue, green, orange, purple and red. You may set any price on them you think is fair. Bottom line is that anything you make over $4 is your profit.

Incentives

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.

N-O-T Stipends

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 in.

ATS Stipends

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

Free Technical Assistance! Points of contacts are:

N-O-T Program Manager Tony Richards, American Lung Association of WV tony@alawv.org ; www.alawv.org, (304) 342-6600 or 1-800-LUNG-USA

Regional Tobacco Prevention Specialists

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.