Posts Tagged "Tobacco"

I learned tonight that Dr. C. Everett Koop died. He was 96. While I didn’t know him personally, I am still quite sad. A true advocate of improving public health. To me, he seemed to have been the U.S. Surgeon General forever. But, it was actually less than a decade. I think it was his name and the fact he was Surgeon General during the Reagan administration. I liked the initial before the name that reminded me of a mountain. He was very tall, so this seemed quite fitting. I read that his close friends called him “Chick”, I liked that too – it stuck with me. He apparently wrote over 200 articles and books, but I can’t say I read 10% of them. I may have read 5%. I only know that now, because of the news. He was probably the most...

The National Conference on Tobacco Or Health (NCTOH) may be over, but it’s still on my mind. I’ve known people who have died too early, are currently struggling with disease – yet are so addicted they can’t seem to quit. I’m sure you do as well. Sometimes it weighs heavily on my mind, and I’ve been encouraged to blog about it more often. I’m published on the subject in the Journal of Dental Educationand try to teach dentists about the addiction and how to talk to their tobacco-dependent patients about quitting. This can be difficult, because they are private practitioners, unlike physicians. But, they don’t want ot perform procedures on current users. Continued use of tobacco products does more than cause wrinkles,...

I was honored to present social media information to those in the tobacco control field at the 2012 National Conference on Tobacco Or Health (NCTOH). I spoke to over 100 people about how to use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google + in their work. I spoke to university professors, clinicians, researchers, high school teachers, youth advocates, the CDC, tobacco treatment specialists, activists, scientists, marketing folks, and vendors. I brought 50 posters with me, and was surprised when I ran out of them. If you did not get one, I am happy to forward a copy to you, please email me at marnett@llu.edu for an electronic copy. Depending on their goals, I recommended different applications. Using more than one is great, but my messages to newbies was the same...

Tobacco kills approximately 435,000 people in the United States every year – more than anything else and these deaths are PREVENTABLE. I spent the past week in Kansas City, Missouri attending the National Conference on Tobacco or Health presenting, ” Using Social Media to Connect as a Health Educator ” – which I will post more about tomorrow. First, some kudos to the residents of Kansas City. They may be some of the nicest people I have ever met. Friendly, helpful and interesting. I tried and appreciated their famous BBQ, and loved it! I stayed in the Westin, across the street from Union Station, which also houses Science City and currently had an exhibit on the Titanic. The other side of the street was a wonderful WW1 memorial. I had a...