November 2008 Health Bytes
Marketing Works: Promote smoking and people smoke
But anti-smoking advocates have found the power of the media also can be harnessed to convince smokers to quit and teens never to start.
--AMNews, September 15, 2008
Many reports take on scientific questions and conclude more research is needed--but not this one. A definitive government document makes its message clear: The marketing of tobacco products leads to increased tobacco use, and depictions of smoking in movies cause young viewers to try it themselves.
"The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use," released Aug. 21 by the National Cancer Institute, was hailed by representatives of a host of anti-smoking groups as the most comprehensive analysis to date on how the media--whether it's television, newspapers, radio, movies or billboards--can encourage or discourage tobacco use.
The findings provide a clear direction for policymakers' efforts to curb smoking, said leaders of the AMA, the American Public Health Assn., the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Legacy Foundation. They spoke at a Washington, D.C., briefing.
• Sent to us by Nancy Schneider of the San Joaquin Alliance:
Home Care of Rochester (HCR) has released a seven-day, bilingual meal plan for people coping with diabetes. The booklet is part of ¡ÉXITO! - a pilot project funded by the Greater Rochester Health Foundation to improve health outcomes for Hispanic adults receiving home care. ¡ÉXITO! is staffed by an Hispanic health care team of nurses, home health aides, social workers, a physical therapist and an occupational therapist that blend language, culture, religion, family and non-traditional medicine into home care services
According to the American Diabetes Association, an estimated 2 million Hispanics have diabetes and only half actually know their diagnoses. The team recognized that many of the recipes and meal plans designed for people with diabetes do not consider the food preferences of Hispanics. The meal plan contains a week’s worth of ideas for breakfast, lunch, and dinner including recipes and healthy tips.
http://www.homecarerochester.com/images/File/Exito%20Recipe.pdf
Myriam Grajales-Hall
Program Manager
ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish (NOS)
University of California
951.827.4397
951.827.2378 fax
AsisTel de la UC: 1-800-514-4494
Servicio de Información en Español
http://espanol.ucanr.or
Major National Cancer Institute Announcement
Last week the National Cancer Institute (NCI) released its latest Smoking and Health Monograph focusing on a comprehensive analysis of the media's role in promoting and reducing tobacco use. One of the 6 major conclusions of this report stated:
"The depiction of cigarette smoking is pervasive in movies, occurring in three-quarters or more of contemporary box-office hits. Identifiable cigarette brands appear in about one-third of movies. The total weight of evidence from cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental studies indicates a causal relationship between exposure to depictions of smoking in movies and youth smoking initiation. "
This is an extremely strong conclusion and the first time a government agency has said that the link between smoking onscreen and youth smoking behavior is CAUSAL. This monograph further strengthens the case for getting smoking out of all youth-rated films by modernizing the ratings system to rate smoking in movies "R." Let's keep our voices strong and continue our Screen Out! activities to finally get a policy in place that protects kids!
Visit the Screen Out! Web site regularly at www.screenout.org to view the latest news and resource updates!