West Virginia Near Bottom of Ratings for Smoking Prevention

The American Lung Association has given the federal government at least one good mark for its work toward curbing tobacco use, although it isn't impressed by West Virginia's efforts.

The U.S. got an "A" for its decision to give the Food and Drug Administration responsibility for regulating tobacco. The lung association said that the regulation was a good first step but more work needed to be done. It said that not enough had been done on the federal or state level in raising the federal cigarette tax to $2.68/pack (the association's goal), providing assistance to help smokers quit or ratifying an international tobacco control treaty that has already been approved by 168 nations.

"Our leaders in Washington have made a strong start in confronting the tobacco epidemic and taking steps that ultimately will save millions of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars for the American economy," said American Lung Association president/CEO Charles D. Connor. "Ending the epidemic, however, will require more hard work."

The lung association said that smoking-related illnesses are the most preventable cause of death in the United States. More than 393,000 people die every year and it costs $193 million a year to the U.S. economy. Secondhand-smoke kills another 50,000 Americans every year.

The lung association isn't as happy with West Virginia's efforts. The state received an "F" in its 2009 report card: Tobacco Prevention & Control Spending; Smokefree Air; Cigarette Tax; and Cessation Coverage.

West Virginia's tobacco control program funding in 2009-10 is $6.8 million, compared to a Centers for Disease Control & Prevention best-practices rate of $27.8 million.

The state prohibits smoking in public schools and restricts smoking in government workplaces and childcare facilities, there are no statewide provisions for private workplaces, restaurants, bars, casinos and gaming establishments, or recreational or cultural facilities. There are penalties but not enough enforcement, the lung association said.

The state's 55-cent per pack tax on cigarettes didn't meet the lung association's muster. Neither did its state-covered cessation programs in either the state Medicaid, state employee health plans or a mandate for private insurance.

Neighboring Ohio and Pennsylvania also received failing grades for some of the categories, though not uniform "F"s. Pennsylvania was praised for raising the cigarette tax but slashing tobacco-control funding by more than 25%.

Substance Abuse Problem Grows Among Older Americans

Substance abuse rates among teen-agers and young adults get a lot of attention, but a new study finds that there is a growing problem among their parents' and grandparents' generations.

More than 4.3 million people over 50 took an illegal drug over the past year, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Marijuana use was the most common for men although the use of marijuana among women was tied in popularity with the misuse of prescription drugs.

SAMHSA predicts that the amount of people over 50 seeking treatment for substance abuse will double in the next 10 years, said a story on CBSNews.com.

Meanwhile, the first of a three-part series in The Register-Herald of Beckley, WV, talks about how to cure addictive behaviors like substance abuse and gambling. The first part is here.

A Year of Accomplishment

The following was written by Latrisha Whitelatch, substance abuse prevention director of the Marshall County Family Resource Network to review the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition’s year:

Hello Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition Members and Concerned Citizens:

I would like to thank all of you for your dedication and commitment to the coalition's mission of reducing substance abuse among Marshall County residents, particularly youth, on a sustained basis. I know it can be very difficult for each of you to attend coalition meetings, since so many of you give your time to a variety of organizations. Please know that I truly appreciate everything that you have done to get to the root of alcohol and drug abuse in our community.

This year we have made great strides toward achieving our vision of a safe and healthy drug-free community, and I would like to recap our efforts and accomplishments. In January, two of our members attended the first of several required meetings for new federal Drug Free Communities grantees. The following month, as a result of our CMCA one on ones, we began advocating for a variety of legislative changes at the state level. We also started working on our media campaign designed to increase the number of parents talking to their children about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

In late March, we began conducting our compliance checks, and in April, we implemented Project Sticker Shock. We also conducted a parent forum to wrap-up our media campaign, and we learned that, as a result of our efforts, underage drinking was no longer a status offense, but a delinquency offense. We had successfully changed state law.

In May, we decided to focus on improving our coalition. That month, we revisited and revised our mission and our vision (both of which are referenced above). We also started working on coalition bylaws. Additionally, May marked the start of Youth in Action team meetings for Marshall County youth.

In June and July, our Youth in Action team sponsored 2 events designed to give Marshall County youth something to do other than use drugs and alcohol. In July, our coalition blog celebrated its first birthday! We were extremely busy in August - we provided a substance abuse prevention training to Marshall County Schools personnel, hosted a CMCA advanced training, and started working with the WV Center for Civic Life on a project designed to increase public dialogue about the problem of underage drinking. We also adopted our bylaws.

In September, we were reawarded our SPF SIG and Drug Free Communities Support Program grants, and in October, we elected officers and hosted a community forum moderator training. In November, we implemented Project Sticker Shock again, and we had over 100 volunteers!

We also sponsored a resource day at John Marshall High School during the month of November, provided TIPS training for the employees of every fraternal organization in Marshall County, and completed our alcohol compliance reviews. In December, we learned that our alcohol compliance had improved dramatically from the previous year - we had a 12.6% non-compliance rate in 2009 versus a 93.8% non-compliance rate in 2008. We also launched 2 media campaigns - one designed to prevent underage drinking and the other designed to prevent binge drinking.

In addition to implementing all of these projects, we continued to conduct one on ones regarding youth access to alcohol, provided presentations and information to a variety of groups in Marshall County, and assisted with prevention education efforts in Marshall County Schools. We also added four new members and received accolades for our coalition blog. And we're not done yet, the Marshall County Winter Carnival, which we are sponsoring, will be held on December 31 from noon until 5pm in Moundsville.

Wow! We've done a wonderful job! And, I am sure that this list does not include everything that we've done as a coalition!! Again, thank you for all of your hard work and dedication. I look forward to working with each of you in the new year. Please remember our first event, the community forum regarding youth and alcohol, will be held Jan. 8 at 11am, and our first meeting will follow at 12:30pm.

Perdue: Drug 'Plague' Has Infested West Virginia

Sunday's Charleston Gazette featured a column about drug abuse and its effect on West Virginia by Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne. Perdue is the chairman of the House Health and Human Resources Committee.

Perdue said that all the talk of health reform in Washington has been missing one very important issue.

"At no time has there been any meaningful discussion of the plague that has infested our streets, our schools and our very homes," Perdue wrote. "A 'community acquired infection' that now appears to destroy the future of an entire generation yet even to be born."

Read the op-ed here.

News-Register Previews Jan. 8 "Youth and Alcohol" Forum

Art Limann from the News-Register wrote an article about the upcoming "Youth and Alcohol: How Do We Keep Our Children Safe and Healthy" forum that will be held Friday, Jan. 8, in Moundsville.

Interviewed in the article was Latrisha Whitelatch, the Marshall County Family Resource Network's substance abuse prevention director and a member of the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition. You can find the article here.

The forum itself will be held at 11 a.m. in the first-floor conference room at the Historic Federal Building, 324 7th St., Moundsville. The event is free and refreshments will be provided.

The forum is being sponsored by the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition, the Marshall County Family Resource Network and the West Virginia Center for Civic Life. In 2009, the Center for Civic Life had picked Marshall County for a pilot project to build citizen involvement in preventing underage drinking. Marshall County was one of only three West Virginia counties picked to participate in the project.

Copies of a discussion guide specially prepared for the event will be handed out at the event, and are also available online.

For more information about the Jan. 8 forum or to register, please contact the FRN at (304) 845-3300 or email marshallcountyfrn@comcast.net.