Happy New Year from Health First Wisconsin!

As we look ahead to a new year and a brand-new legislative session, Health First Wisconsin is excited about the challenges and opportunities that we face.

Like many of you, we have an ambitious agenda for 2013. Our New Year’s Resolution is simple: we resolve to continue our work to advocate for policies and changes that improve health where it starts – in our homes, workplaces, playgrounds, schools and parks.

In 2013, Health First Wisconsin aspires to make Wisconsin a place where the healthy choice is the easy choice. We are committed to making sure that every single person – from Kenosha to Platteville to Beloit to Superior to Marinette and everywhere in between – has an opportunity to achieve their best health.

We know that our challenges are tremendous – despite record-low youth smoking rates, tobacco still remains the leading preventable cause of death in Wisconsin. Our state is plagued by alcohol misuse and we have the highest rates of high-risk drinking in the nation. And we spend a reported $1.5 billion annually on obesity-related medical costs.

At Health First Wisconsin we don’t dwell on these statistics. Instead, we use these numbers to inform decision-makers and empower our work. Every single day, we are working hard to promote effective, common sense policy and environmental changes that will reduce the burden of commercial tobacco on our state, curb alcohol misuse, and make meaningful strides to combat obesity.

In 2013, Health First Wisconsin will:  

• Continue the fight against Big Tobacco by working to protect the state’s investment in comprehensive tobacco prevention and control efforts that help smokers quit and stop kids from using tobacco in the first place.
• Further protect youth from tobacco products by making sure that all tobacco products – especially the candy-flavored junk targeting our kids – are taxed fairly.
• Continue to support tribal communities in their efforts to go smoke-free and reduce commercial tobacco use.
• Work to curb alcohol misuse and change Wisconsin’s destructive alcohol culture by continuing to build a strong, statewide coalition on alcohol policy.
• Encourage Wisconsinites to change our permissive attitude toward underage drinking by eliminating loopholes in drinking age laws.
• Help communities reduce drunk driving by advocating for Wisconsin to join many other states in allowing local law enforcement to use sobriety checkpoints if needed.
• Expand our work to stem the rise of obesity in Wisconsin by promoting healthy food systems and physical activity.
• Support Farm to School programs that invest in the local economy and ensure our kids are eating healthy and can achieve academic success.
• Promote healthy and active communities starting at our schools and government buildings.

We have ambitious goals, but we are confident that with the help of our partners and supporters across the state, 2013 will be a banner year for the health of Wisconsin.

Together, we can move the dial on Wisconsin’s health and work to make our state the healthiest in the nation.

Stay tuned for more details and updates on our progress by checking back here, liking us on Facebook and signing up as a supporter. 

Big Tobacco CEOs and their Big Payday

We all know that Big Tobacco companies are big spenders.

While many states including Wisconsin have been making significant budget cuts to tobacco prevention and control programs, Big Tobacco continues to spend big money to lure new customers and keep their current ones.

Big Tobacco spends more than $1 million an hour to market their products in the U.S. – including $233 million a year on advertising in Wisconsin.

The financial payoff for running a Big Tobacco company and peddling its deadly products is also huge. In 2011, the three men at the helms of Big Tobacco in the U.S. had combined salaries of nearly $32 million.

Last year, Lorillard Inc. CEO Murray Kessler made $13 million, Altria Group CEO Michael E. Szymanczyk made $10.2 million and Reynolds American chief Daniel M. Delen made $8.5 million.

The salaries are as staggering as Big Tobacco’s destructive effects on human health.

Only New York, Florida and California spend more than $32 million a year on tobacco prevention – while 47 states and the District of Columbia spend less. 

If $32 million were put toward tobacco prevention budgets, we could double every single tobacco prevention budget in 16 states: Missouri, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Washington, Idaho, Kansas, New Jersey, Michigan, Georgia, Kentucky, Nebraska, Iowa, Vermont, South Dakota, Massachusetts and Maryland.  

Wisconsin spends $5.3 million a year on our state tobacco prevention and control program. If we invested those Big Tobacco salaries in Wisconsin, we would increase our state prevention funding by seven times. That would bring us closer to the $64 million a year the CDC recommends Wisconsin spend on tobacco prevention programs. 

The battle with Big Tobacco is far from over. Smoking kills nearly 8,000 people a year in Wisconsin and is the leading preventable cause of death. Two young smokers replace every person who dies of smoking each year and tobacco use has created a pediatric epidemic in the U.S.

We know we have a steep uphill battle. We can – we must – and we will – continue to fight against the Big Spending of Big Tobacco. 

Kicking Butts and Helping Kids Stay Tobacco-Free

Happy Kick Butts Day!

Today – and every day – youth across Wisconsin are working hard to expose and counteract the deadly tactics of the tobacco industry. These young people know that Big Tobacco is targeting them to become lifetime customers. They also know that it is essential to talk peer-to-peer about the importance of being tobacco-free.

It is incredibly inspiring to see young people fight back against Big Tobacco. It’s also critical to the health of their generation.

Recently the U.S. Surgeon General released a report on youth and tobacco. The report concluded that our progress in lowering rates of tobacco use has stalled.

The report included a lot of daunting facts about youth tobacco use. Here are three:

• The younger a person is when they start using tobacco, the more likely that person will be addicted.
• Nearly 90% of smokers start before age 18 and 99% start before age 26.
• We have a staggering replacement rate – every person who dies from smoking-related causes is replaced by two new, young smokers. 

In short, we are facing a pediatric epidemic.

In Wisconsin, tobacco companies spend $233 million a year marketing their deadly products, which blows away the $5.3 million we spend on the state’s tobacco prevention and control program each year. From colorful packaging and onscreen smoking in children’s movies to candy-flavored mini-cigars and smokeless tobacco that looks like breath mints, it is clear that tobacco corporations are finding creative ways to reach young customers.

To counter the $1 million an hour that tobacco spends marketing their deadly products in the U.S., last Thursday the CDC launched its first-ever national advertising campaign encouraging people to quit smoking. The hard-hitting campaign, “Tips from a Former Smoker,” features real people who are suffering from life-altering health problems and major diseases as a result of tobacco use.

The campaign highlights that tobacco is not only the leading preventable cause of death (killing nearly 8,000 a year in Wisconsin alone) – it also leads to serious long-term suffering. The “Tips from a Former Smoker” ads hit the airwaves this week in communities across Wisconsin. You can view the compelling ads here. 

We know what works in the fight against tobacco – higher tobacco taxes, well-funded tobacco prevention programs, and strong smoke-free laws. We also know that reducing tobacco use will save lives and help our businesses, families and state save money. Let’s use Kick Butts Day as an opportunity to re-dedicate ourselves to protecting our kids from Big Tobacco.

Join our youth today in telling tobacco companies to stop targeting our kids and encourage your communities and leaders to take a stand against Big Tobacco.

Click here for a list of Kick Butts Day events in Wisconsin.