Communities: Holding the Key to Tobacco Prevention

Without the contribution of Maine communities, our goals for prevention cannot be realized. The Partnership For A Tobacco-Free Maine is working hard to reduce tobacco use and tobacco-related chronic disease and ensure accessibility of services to disparate populations. This work can only be accomplished through strong connections with principle community members across the state and through implementation of tobacco-prevention programs at the local level.

Healthy Maine Partnerships: Creating Strong Connections

Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMPs) reach out to individuals, groups, agencies, and organizations to expand the number of people involved in promoting healthier living. Because tobacco use is inseparable from the many aspects of physical and mental health, HMPs thrive through the interdependence of their programs. Twenty-eight HMPs in Maine have successfully formed coalitions dedicated to reducing tobacco use and exposure, promoting physical activity and healthy eating, and school systems and community coalitions are working together as equal partners to achieve results. Find Your Local HMP.

Take the Next Step

In these pages, Communities will find the resources they need to carry out the work of PTM, including links, articles, and research associated with tobacco prevention and control, as well as available materials for community-related training and outreach.

How HMPs are Building a Healthier Maine The Work of Tobacco Control Coordinators 2007 Health Reform

 

Building a Healthier Maine

Remarkable changes have taken place in cities and towns across Maine. HMPs have been building a healthier Maine by collaborating with local school administrative units, community organizations, hospitals, healthcare providers, business, municipalities, and many volunteers. They have created strong, seamless connections among local, regional, and state levels. Individual HMPs have spearheaded collaborative efforts to pioneer new approaches to improve nutrition, promote physical activity, and reduce tobacco use and exposure. In addition:

• Significant additional funding has been leveraged to support local efforts.
• The number of smoke-free environments in Maine has increased in communities and schools, including college residence hall and apartment houses.
• There are more opportunities for youth and adults to be active, including walking paths, trails, and community gyms.
• Nutritional content of food in the schools has been improved at lunch and school-sponsored events.
• Awareness has been raised, attitudes changed, and behavior changes have been fostered.

On a local level, the accomplishments of HMPs are mounting:

• In the Mid Coast: ACCESS Health in Brunswick launched their Work Healthy program to encourage and recognize businesses and organizations in the Mid-Coast area that are promoting improved health for their employees. ACCESS Health coalition members provide technical assistance and resources to employers including the Good Work! Kit and other relevant action packets.
• In Central Maine: Somerset Heart Health has been reaching out to business and encouraging the development of wellness councils as a key facet for local Chambers of Commerce. Larger employers, such as Madison Paper industry and New Balance Athletic Shoe worked with the HMP to implement a national program called “Quit and Win.” Between 2004-2005, the program helped 62 people to end their addiction to tobacco.
• In Aroostook: In Fort Kent, at the St. John Valley Partnership, in 2004 members of the Youth Advocacy Program designed and donated T-shirts to the Northern Maine Medical Center for ongoing distribution to all newborn babies. The tiny shirts loudly proclaim through an iron-on decal “I was born smoke-free!”
• In Cumberland: Youth affiliated with “Healthy Portland” TREK (Tobacco Resistance Education for Kids) group demonstrated both leadership and creativity when they created a commercial viewed statewide. The ad, featuring full-sized cigarette that follows youth around, won the American Lung Association of Maine Distinguished Service Award for its support for a tobacco-free lifestyle.
• In Western Maine: “Project NOW: Northern Oxford Wellness” worked with the management of the Black Mountain Ski Area to succeed in making it the first ski area in the USA to be entirely smoke-free.

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District Tobacco Coordinators – Supporting the Work of HMPs

District Tobacco Coordinators serve key positions in helping accomplish the goals of local HMPs and in turn, help PTM fulfill its mission. This position is a resource for local HMP staff as well as community coalitions, organizations, and municipalities in the planning, development and implementation of evidence-based programs, policies, and practices related to tobacco control, prevention and treatment.

Maine spends $602 million per year in health care costs directly caused by smoking. That does not include medical costs related to exposure to secondhand smoke, smoking caused fires, spit tobacco use, and cigar or pipe smoking. Non-health costs include property losses, cleaning and maintenance costs from tobacco smoke and litter, and the overwhelming productivity costs due to absences, smoking breaks, performance declines, and termination for smoking due to disability and illness.

DTC’s are part of reducing these enormous costs. Coordinators provide content expertise in tobacco use prevention, tobacco-related health promotion, and tobacco treatment to local HMPs. They work with HMPs to assess, plan, coordinate, and increase collaboration on initiatives to further prevent and reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. DTC’s also identify and plan programs for at-risk populations, and help promote tobacco as a social justice issue.

Contact PTM about becoming a District Tobacco Coordinator.

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Health Reforms Improve the Work of HMPs

In September 2007, Governor Baldacci announced that HMP members and the Public Health Work Group will undergo reforms that will deliver more effective health care statewide. Improvements to the state’s health services include eight new Public Health Units within the Department of Health and Human Services established by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to improve resources for the public, and consolidation of funds that will lead to coverage to help serve all of Maine.

Read the press release about Maine’s Public Health Infrastructure.

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