NH DHHS Recognizes Families First in Portsmouth with Innovation Award for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

(DHHS) will recognize Families First Health and Support Center (FF) in

Portsmouth on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 for its efforts implementing an

electronic feedback system with QuitWorks-NH. (QuitWorks-NH is a free

service DHHS offers to help providers connect patients to cessation

services in New Hampshire). The aim of the project was to increase FF’s

capacity to intervene with patients who use tobacco, through modifications

to their electronic health records. The result was a unique, paperless

communication loop between Families First clinicians and QuitWorks-NH.

Since piloting the project, FF has seen an increase in the identification

of patients that use tobacco and an increase in referrals to QuitWorks-NH.

This project is the first of its kind in the State and one of the first

being achieved in the Nation.


DATE: Wednesday, January 11, 2012

3:30 PM


EVENT: Families First Receives Innovation Award


LOCATION: Families First Health and Support Center

100 Campus Drive

Portsmouth, NH

NH DHHS - Merchant Compliance with New Hampshire Youth Tobacco Law Increases

Concord, NH - Tobacco merchant compliance with laws concerning tobacco
sales to youth in New Hampshire continues to increase according to the
latest SYNAR tobacco compliance report by the Department of Health and
Human Services (DHHS), Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services (BDAS).

The report is based on attempted tobacco buys by supervised youth during
random compliance checks. The rate of retailers selling to youth dropped to
7.8% in 2010. This number is down from 8.6% in 2010, and a dramatic decline
from 14% in 2009. Research demonstrates that lower tobacco use by youth
also decreases the chance that they will use drugs or alcohol.

“This is very good news for New Hampshire children and their parents,” said
BDAS Director Joseph P. Harding. “We know that tobacco use by youth harms
their development and increases their risk of using alcohol and other
drugs. The results show what can be accomplished by building partnerships
that address issues affecting the health and safety of our youth and
communities. We thank our partners for their vigilance in not selling
tobacco to underage youth.”

SYNAR is a federally mandated effort to reduce tobacco sales to youth.
Three hundred ninety-two tobacco retailers across the State were surveyed
in this year’s SYNAR tobacco compliance checks. The results of the checks
were well under the federal SYNAR requirement of 20%. BDAS partners with
the New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC), Division of Enforcement to
conduct and report on the results of the compliance checks.

“The Division is charged with licensing, education and enforcement of
tobacco laws,” said Chief Eddie Edwards, NHLC Director of Enforcement. “A
compliance check is an educational tool used to ensure voluntary compliance
of New Hampshire tobacco and alcohol laws. We are very pleased with this
year’s tobacco compliance checks results. We feel the continued partnership
between liquor investigators, local police departments, youth volunteers,
and licensees is the secret to New Hampshire’s success of nearly 93%
compliance.

Data from the NH Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) demonstrated that youth
tobacco use dramatically increases their use of other substances. The
results of a survey of 22,000 students in the 2007 YRBS revealed that 27
out of 28 high school students who smoked also reported drinking.

PhD, MBA

Go to www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcbcs/bdas/documents/synar11.pdf  to view the report

For more information about BDAS visit the DHHS website at
www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcbcs/bdas/index.htm .

Division of NH Public Health Services Recognizes the 36th Great American Smokeout

Concord, NH — The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

(DHHS) Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) in conjunction with the

City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services and City of

Manchester Health Department recognizes the 36th Great American Smokeout on

Thursday, November 17, 2011. This event, which is sponsored by the American

Cancer Society, encourages tobacco users to quit for at least a day in the

hope that this might challenge them to stop permanently.


It is estimated that 1,700 New Hampshire adults die each year from smoking;

and another 160 adult non-smokers will die from exposure to secondhand

smoke. Annual health care costs in New Hampshire directly caused by smoking

come in at $554 million. It is therefore important that New Hampshire

public health officials help residents quit tobacco and provide cessation

resources.


DPHS currently offers free counseling and nicotine replacement patches to

residents who call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or self-refer via the web to the NH

Tobacco Helpline’s website (www.TryToStopNH.org ). The Helpline provides

no-cost counseling and encouragement for quitting tobacco use to all New

Hampshire residents. According to the 2010 National Adult Tobacco Survey,

64% of New Hampshire residents who smoke report wanting to quit.


“Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death and disease in New

Hampshire, causing harm to nearly every organ in the body,” said Dr. José

Montero, Director of Public Health at DPHS. “It is vital that we encourage

people who use tobacco in New Hampshire to want to quit and offer any

support and cessation services that we can.”


Both the City of Nashua Division of Public Health and Community Services

and the City of Manchester Health Department have received grants from DPHS

to establish the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program in their respective

cities and have worked to encourage New Hampshire residents to quit

smoking. For information or free support in quitting, call the NH Tobacco

Helpline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or visit www.TryToStopNH.org .

Visit www.cancer.org  for more information on the Great American Smokeout.

For more information about the New Hampshire Tobacco Prevention and Control

Program or Nashua or Manchester Health Departments, visit www.dhhs.nh.gov,

www.NashuaNH.Gov , or www.manchesternh.gov .

FEDERAL AND STATE PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERS ENCOURAGE STRONGER TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CONTROL POLICIES

U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh and Six Regional State Health Commissioners Discussed Policies to Prevent Kids from Starting and Help Adults Quit

Manchester, NH — Dr. Howard Koh, MD, MPH, Assistant Secretary for Health of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, today joined with the state health commissioners from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont in Manchester, NH, to call on New England health and policy leaders to work together to accelerate progress on tobacco control and prevention. The remarks were made just prior to Dr. Koh’s hosting of a New England Tobacco Town Hall which drew approximately 225 participants from the region.

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in this country and in the region, killing 20,000 New Englanders each year. While New England has been a leader in policies to prevent tobacco use, help smokers quit and reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, tobacco use continues to be all too prevalent among particular populations here and across the country, including low income adults (39.4% smoke nationally), the uninsured (35.5% smoke nationally) and military personnel (30.6% nationally) – all dramatically higher than the national smoking rate of 19.4% for adults. Annually, health care costs from tobacco amount to $1.63 billion in Connecticut, $602 million in Maine, $3.54 billion in Massachusetts, $564 million in New Hampshire, $506 million in Rhode Island and $233 million in Vermont.

While addressing the audience of tobacco control experts, health organizations, lawmakers, business leaders, and healthcare providers, Dr. Koh discussed both the urgency of ending the tobacco epidemic and the Obama Administration’s commitment helping tobacco users quit and preventing kids from starting.

―We have within our grasp the capacity to eliminate the harms from tobacco dependence in our society. We know how to end the tobacco epidemic and under President Obama’s leadership we are committed to advancing progress towards our shared goal of a society free of tobacco-related death and disease,‖ said Koh.

Dr. Jose Montero, New Hampshire’s Health Director thanked Dr. Koh and the attendees on behalf of his peers from the neighboring New England states. As the senior public health official from the ―host state‖ for this important convening, Dr. Montero said, ―It was an honor to host the New England states for such an important event. The rates of tobacco use have been declining, but it is still a leading cause of death and disease in New England and we can and must do more to encourage people to quit and not start in the first place.

In addition to those who attended the Town Hall in person, the event was webcast live to tobacco control and health experts throughout the country. To view the webcast, visit: http://www.edifymultimedia.com/webcast/player.htm  

Attendees committed to working together to actualize a vision for dramatically reducing tobacco use in New England in order to save lives and decrease healthcare costs.

# # #

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news

US DHHS - Manchester: HHS Assistant Secretary Dr. Howard Koh and Public Health Leaders Talk Tobacco on November 16

Sending on behalf of the US Department of Health and Human Services

(See attached file: Advisory - NE Tobacco Town Hall 11.16.11.pdf)