Tobacco Free Task Force History
2005-2006
WCHP’s Tobacco Free Program’s
goals are to reduce adult and youth tobacco use and to eliminate it as
a social norm. The program areas are:
• Ask and Advise works with health care professionals
to identify and help tobacco users to quit.
• Clear the Air increases the number of smoke-free
places.
• Do Your Part supports local law enforcement and
the business community in prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to
minors.
• Help to Quit promotes local, phone, and internet-based
tobacco cessation programs.
• Knowledge in Action facilitates the exchange
of tobacco control-related information between experts, advocates, and
lawmakers.
• Set Them Free works with school-related audiences
to implement tobacco-free programs.
• Peer Factor (BUSTED!) creates an active youth movement
whose members participate in one or more of the Peer Factor challenges:
to expose the truth about manipulative and deceptive marketing practices
used to target teens; to quit or help others to quit using tobacco; and/or
to work to increase tobacco-free places.
Since the program’s inception in May 2002:
• 12 programs in schools and community locations have reached 1,686
children with tobacco prevention and cessation education.
• The average yearly compliance rate of not selling tobacco products
to minors was 94.1%.
• A tobacco cessation program in our county's largest Federally
Qualified Health Center's (FQHC) 5 offices has been started, served 186
people, and has an impressive 33% quit rate. (Note that according to the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, individual counseling typically
results in quit percentages of 14.7% to 19.1%.)
• 15 tobacco users have received financial assistance with obtaining
nicotine replacement therapy.
WCHP’s Tobacco Free Program’s funding was cut by 28.5% by the PA Governor’s 05-06 budget. As a result, fewer subcontractors were engaged, and fewer programs were completed.
2004-2005
The Tobacco Free Task Force added members of the following groups: Tobacco Free Subcontractors, Tobacco Free Grassrooter advocates, and Tobacco Free Physician champions. This expanded Tobacco Free Task Force will serve as Washington County’s Tobacco Free Coalition under the new Tobacco Control Contract for May 2005-June 2007 to “guide and support primary contractor and associated service provider tobacco prevention and cessation activities including, but not limited to, community needs and services assessments and primary contractor deliverables under each of the nine program components.”
2003-2004
The group’s name changed to the Tobacco Free Advisory Board to reflect
the branding of Washington County Health Partners, Inc.’s (WCHP’s)
Tobacco Free Program, and the oversight of the program implementation
was removed from the advisory board’s roles and responsibilities
as this was a role and responsibility of WCHP and its Board of Directors.
WCHP’s Executive Committee renamed the group the Tobacco Free Task Force to streamline the organizational structure of task forces and programs. The Chair of the Tobacco Free Task Force was added to WCHP’s Board of Directors.
2002-2003
The existing Tobacco Free Task Force was originally formed in October
2002 as the Tobacco Control Advisory Board to fulfill contract deliverable
PA04, “Identify experts who represent the diversity of the service
area to assist in developing partnerships with various community-based
organizations and provide oversight in the implementation of a comprehensive
tobacco control program” (From Work Statement, Appendix A to Contract
ME 01-656).