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. 

Secretary Vilsack Visit Kicks Off Farm to School Month

Yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Madison and our friends at REAP Food Group and other great local organizations. As part of his visit, Secretary Vilsack discussed the federal government’s efforts to support local agriculture through Farm to School and other programs.

Secretary Vilsack’s visit was a great way to kick off October, which is national Farm to School month. Strengthening local economies and improving the health of our kids are goals we all share. Farm to School programs meet these goals by connecting schools and local farms to provide healthy and nutritious foods for students. 

More than 100 Wisconsin schools already have Farm to School programs in place, but many more lack the resources to start or expand their programs.

Health First Wisconsin wants to see kids across the state leading active, healthy lifestyles and eating fresh, local produce. We applaud Secretary Vilsack and the federal government for taking the lead on supporting local producers and promoting healthy, local foods in our schools. We hope state leaders will take note and join the effort to support the Farm to School movement in Wisconsin.

Farm to School programs encourage healthier eating habits and academic success, and boost business for local farmers. Students in Farm to School programs have been shown to eat more fruits and vegetables and they build a foundation for lifelong healthy eating habits. Farm to School programs also provide a valuable market for local farmers and producers.

Anyone can join the movement to promote Farm to School programs in Wisconsin by signing up at makefarm2schoolhappen.org.

There are currently 14 communities throughout the state working to support and grow Farm to School programs in their counties through the Transform Wisconsin movement, which is funded through the community transformation grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To find out more about Transform Wisconsin communities, please visit www.transformwi.com.    

Join the movement to Transform Wisconsin

The tremendous burdens of obesity and tobacco on our state are well-known. Earlier this week, the CDC released new data showing that more than a quarter (27.7%) of Wisconsinites are obese, and the national costs related to obesity are staggering. A separate study released this week underscored the importance of promoting smoke-free living, reporting that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke outdoors experience significant, lingering health effects.

By joining the Transform Wisconsin movement, you have an opportunity to do something to reverse these trends and improve the health of your community.

Transform Wisconsin is a new statewide effort that seeks to improve the health of our communities.  It is founded on the idea that health doesn’t happen in the doctor’s office – it happens where we live, work, and play.

At its core, Transform Wisconsin is about solutions.

In late July, the Transform Wisconsin Coalition awarded 30 grants, totaling $6.6 million over the next 26 months, to diverse community organizations across the state. Transform Wisconsin Coalition leaders, local grantees and community members gathered to announce the news at American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Stoney Acres Farm in Athens (near Wausau), Emerson Elementary School in La Crosse, the North Beach Gazebo in Racine, and the Eastside YMCA in Green Bay. 

Twenty-four communities are receiving an Impact Grant, which will focus on one of three key areas: expanding smoke free environments to include apartment buildings, strengthening farm to school programs so Wisconsin students have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, or increasing physical activity for kids by promoting and implementing open gyms between schools and community agencies.

In addition, six communities are receiving a Transform Wisconsin Grant, which will focus efforts on all three key areas. In total, the projects will reach over 2.6 million people in Wisconsin, or about half of the state’s population. 

Transform Wisconsin is an unprecedented opportunity for individuals and communities to come together to improve health through innovative and effective local policies.

We all agree we want our kids to be safe and healthy. Together, we can – and we will – transform Wisconsin to a place where kids eat fresh, local fruits and vegetables at school; community members use schools for physical activity; and everyone has an opportunity to live in smoke-free housing.

Through Transform Wisconsin, communities across the state will improve health by making it easier for all residents to make healthy choices.

Everyone has a role in solving obesity and preventing chronic diseases. We invite doctors, teachers, farmers, and people in communities across the state to come together to find solutions that work for Wisconsin.

We need you to join the Transform Wisconsin movement! Visit www.transformwi.com today and sign up to receive updates or volunteer for a project in your community.  

You Can Help Transform Wisconsin

Earlier this week, we launched Transform Wisconsin – an exciting effort to help Wisconsin communities become healthier.

Every person in Wisconsin has the right to breathe smoke-free air and have a healthy and safe place to live, work and play. The bottom line is that living in healthy communities makes it is easier for everyone to make healthier choices, like eating more fruits and vegetables and being more physically active.

To move us toward healthier communities, Transform Wisconsin is offering competitive grants to non-profit and local government groups seeking to promote active communities, smoke-free living and access to fresh, local foods.

Transform Wisconsin will bring together parents, farmers, landlords, schools – and people like you – to find innovative solutions to improve the health and quality of life in communities across the state.

From May 1-June 15, local governments and non-profit organizations can apply to receive Transform Wisconsin grants. Potential applicants can also sign up and participate in a webinar on Tuesday, May 8th at 10am to learn more about the grant application process.

Transform Wisconsin is built on the idea that when we invest in communities, we invest in health and make lives better. We have a tremendous opportunity to make the kinds of changes now that will benefit our health for generations to come.

Want to join the movement? Follow TransformWI on Facebook and Twitter and be sure to visit the website for updates and the opportunity to vote for your favorite project proposals in the coming weeks.

Together, we can Transform Wisconsin into a place where everyone can access fresh fruits and vegetables, breathe smoke free air, and have safe places to play.

That will be a beautiful thing.

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.

Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels and Big Tobacco's Stall Tactics

Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled the FDA’s new graphic warning labels on cigarette packages violate Big Tobacco’s freedom of speech.

The decision is only one step in the legal process – the case will go on to appeal. But it is a small victory for Big Tobacco, awarding the industry’s continued aggressive and deceitful efforts to conceal the fatal health effects of smoking.

It's clear that Big Tobacco is using the courts as a stall tactic to keep effective new cigarette warning labels off their products as long as possible.

Starting this September, the FDA will require graphic warning labels to cover 50% of the front and 50% of the back of cigarette packages. The truthful, appalling labels will also be prominently featured in tobacco ads. The warnings will replace the small text-only cigarette warning labels that have not been updated since 1984.

This idea is not new. Many other countries, from Brazil to Russia, require similar graphic warnings on their cigarettes. Research from these countries shows these labels are an effective way to educate about the risks of smoking and discourage smoking. 

We need all the tools possible to further educate people about this deadly addiction and counteract the hundreds of millions of dollars the tobacco industry spends peddling their products to new and existing customers.

In Wisconsin alone, tobacco companies spend $233 million a year to market their lethal products to kids and adults – more than 40 times what the state spends on the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program ($5.3 million/year).

In case you forgot, smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death in Wisconsin and nearly 8,000 residents die each year from tobacco-related causes. Tobacco costs us over $4.5 billion a year in health care costs and lost productivity. That’s almost $2,000 per Wisconsin household!

The new cigarette warning labels will help relieve this tremendous burden on our kids, families, businesses and communities.

Let’s get these warning labels on our cigarette packages. In doing so, we’ll help the 70 percent of adult smokers who want to quit and we’ll prevent our kids from picking up this lifetime addiction.