| Most significant accomplishments of 2006–2007 grant year Aug 1, 2006–July 31, 2007 |
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1. T-Free Zone program Launched at the end of FY05-06 and highlighted in that year’s EOY report, the T-Free Zone program was fully developed and implemented by the end of FY06-07. While the initial presentation (05-06) of the program mentioned a tie-in to POP advertising and economic costs, the call to action was focused almost entirely on smoke free entryways. Now in its fully developed form, the T-Free Zone is presented as a comprehensive, community approach to, “Help fight tobacco addiction” with smoke free air, cessation support, and counteraction to youth initiation. In the view of the community partnership coordinator and advisors, (1) this is a branded approach with a widely understood public health message (addiction), (2) a menu of supporting actions encompassing all ASP initiatives allows anyone to participate and any level (including multiple levels) rather than being narrowly defined by constituency, and (3) the mass media message to the general public will be consistent over time rather than changing with each ASP strategy. 2. County T-Free Zone resolution Among the respondents to the July-06 T-Free Zone launch was our county public health director, the agency through which the community partnership (CP), Tobacco Free Tompkins, operates. The PH director took the initiative to the county personnel director, who in turn negotiated with employee representatives for a voluntary T-Free Zone program at all County worksites starting in Jan-07. At the request of the personnel director, the CP coordinator drafted a legislative resolution in support of voluntary T-Free Zones at all sites where county business is conducted. The resolution was presented to the Tompkins County Board of Health in Jan-07. It passed that body in Feb-07, and subsequently was passed by two legislative committees and approved by the full county legislature in March-07. 3. City T-Free Zone directive In Aug-06 the Tobacco Free Tompkins CP coordinator initiated communications with the City of Ithaca HR department to ask for their support of the T-Free Zone program. In mid-September the CP coordinator made a presentation to city’s Labor Management Health Insurance Committee. While contact was maintained with HR, there were no further discussions or presentations. Then, in January-07 the coordinator was informed that T-Free Zones at City buildings would be in effect as of February 1. In a special bulletin to employees it was announced that, “the City will be joining forces with other county organizations and begin participating in the Smoke Free Zone program. Mayor Peterson supports this initiative and has directed that smoke free zones be established and enforced for all City facilities.” 4. Presentation to Neighborhood Committee of Ithaca Common Council The topic of a resolution to address the pervasiveness of retail POP tobacco advertising was first discussed between the CP coordinator and an Ithaca Common Council member in March-07. The member believed the Council would receive the issue favorably; the coordinator felt it was important to establish a context showing precedence for legislative involvement, or to present the issue in the context of a wider public health initiative. As a draft of the comprehensive T-Free Zone program neared completion, the coordinator renewed contact with the Council member and invited to present a proposal at the July-07 meeting of Council’s Environment and Neighborhood Quality Committee. Consistent with the comprehensive approach of the T-Free Zone, the proposal included a city-wide ban on smoking in public parks, playgrounds and at outdoor public events, a ban on city programs accepting funds or support from tobacco manufacturers, a ban on tobacco promotions on city property, and a resolution asking retailers to voluntarily reduce or eliminate POP tobacco ads. The Committee indicated its support for the proposal and moved that specific text be drafted for consideration at their Aug-07 meeting. 5. Paid Media Campaigns Educating the community about the public health impact of retail POP advertising for tobacco products is a long-term process. Tobacco Free Tompkins planned a 13-week campaign in the daily Ithaca Journal to begin the process. Three ads detailing the issue were rotated weekly, appearing in 4 editions each week. Comments from local partners suggest that, although there was initial concern that the ads were too text-laden, the long-running series has delivered in its goal to educate interested community members. In another campaign, radio was used to build awareness of the T-Free Zone both as a welcome sign of smoke free entryways and in support of reduced POP advertising. To underscore the local nature of the T-Free Zone campaign, the CP coordinator voiced the radio spots and identified himself and his position. The tactic seems to work as intended as the coordinator, a member of the community for over 20 years, has received passing comments from many acquaintances such as, “I heard you on the radio, and that is a good cause you are promoting.” 6. First POP Pledge Signed A college student working as a summer intern was charged with taking the T-Free Zone messages to businesses in the Collegetown section of Ithaca. Her intervention with one retailer resulted in a signed pledge to reduce POP advertising, and removal of a large ad for Camel cigarettes. After the CP coordinator distributed a press release touting the latter, a story ran in the daily Ithaca Journal and a live interview was aired on the morning talk radio show. 7. POP Agenda for Community Partnership Modality Meeting Workplan strategies to reduce or eliminate point of purchase (POP) tobacco advertising felt like a black hole for many CP coordinators. It seemed like no one knew where to begin or how to proceed. Questions were not getting answered at partner meetings where POP was just one of many items on the agenda. The Tompkins County CP coordinator volunteered to work on the planning group for a 2 day CP modality meeting in Jan-07. The coordinator pressed repeatedly for POP to dominate the meeting agenda. Working closely with the CP modality leader, the resulting agenda dedicated around one-third of the meeting time to POP. The coordinator devoted considerable research time to preparing for the meeting. Informal comments and personal observation in the aftermath suggests that the meeting time spent on POP contributed to a new momentum for this part of partners’ workplans.
8. Quitline statistics for Tompkins County, Aug 1, 2006–July 31, 2007Demographic report: callers who spoke with a Quitline specialist (Download pdf report, 21KB) Referrals: by health care providers and by Fax to Quit (Download pdf report, 26KB) Total Calls to the Quitline from Tompkins County telephone exchanges:
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Web master TC Health Department Health Promotion Program Tompkins County Home Page T-Free: Tobacco Free Tompkins is funded by a grant to the Health Promotion Program at the Tompkins County Health Department |