The staff at HA are gearing up again to assist tobacco users to quit in our annual Quit & Win program. We have found from years of experience that this valuable program needs ample advertising to be a success. Afterall, motivated quitters can’t join the program unless they know about it. So we are looking for volunteers to hang posters in Androscoggin County (except Livermore and Livermore Falls) until Jan 10th. We are looking for as little as an hour or two of your time–any time you can give is much appreciated!

Please contact Sarah Mayberry at 795-2504 or maybersa@cmhc.org if you have a few hours you can spare to help a quitter in our community to hear about this great program.

We wish you a safe and happy holiday season!

~The Healthy Androscoggin Staff

(PS-Apologies if you have received this email in duplicate)

Click here for our 2009 Quit & Win! registration form.

Participants who stay quit for five weeks (January 21 to February 25, 2009) and attend the Quit & Win celebration in March 2009 (details to come) are eligible for many great prizes including $500, $250, and $100. Helpers also have the chance to win valuable prizes.

• To qualify for this year’s Quit and Win Program and win prizes you must:
  1. Sign up with a helper by January 14th, 2009.
  2. Quit smoking by January 21st and stay quit for the five weeks between Jan. 21 and Feb. 25, 2009.
  3. Attend Healthy Androscoggin ’s Quit & Win celebration in March 2009, details to come.

• Comments from past participants include:
  “This has helped me to acknowledge that quitting is a hard thing to do and it takes all the support you can get. The support from this program helped me to quit smoking and to stay quit.”
  “Great program! I really like the mailings with helpful tips to quit smoking.”
  “Wonderful incentives! It really kept me motivated.”

• Comments from past helpers include: “Great motivational program!”
  “Because of my quitter, I also quit smoking.”
  “The flyer I received really helped me by giving me tips to help my friend quit smoking without nagging.”

If you have any questions about the Quit & Win Program or quitting tobacco, please call Healthy Androscoggin at 795-5990.

January 21 2009, 8am-3pm

January 22, 2009, 8am-3pm**

Auburn Public Library Community Room

Fee: $35 per day

•Day one (1/21) is for ANYONE (affiliated with school) who interacts with students from bus drivers to high level administrators.

•Day two (1/22) is best suited for those who will actually conduct the hands on evaluations, more likely school nurses and school resource officers. **The ending time may be earlier depending on the number of participants. To print the registration form click on:ditep-registration-form (26 KB)

The staff at HA are gearing up again to assist tobacco users to quit in our annual Quit & Win program. We have found from years of experience that this valuable program needs ample advertising to be a success. Afterall, motivated quitters can’t join the program unless they know about it. So we are looking for volunteers to hang posters throughout the towns of Androscoggin County (except Livermore and Livermore Falls) in the weeks before Christmas. We are looking for as little as an hour or two of your time, and you can combine hanging posters with your holiday errands!

Please contact Sarah Mayberry at 795-2504 or maybersa@cmhc.org if you have a few hours you can spare to help a quitter in our community to hear about this great program.

We wish you a safe and happy holiday season!

~The Healthy Androscoggin Staff

Regular Weekly Meetings will be held on Thursdays from

6:00 pm – 7:00 pm at

Thursday, November 20th will mark the 33rd annual American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout. The Smokeout was started in 1976 to inspire and encourage smokers to quit for one day and is a great opportunity for people to make a long-term plan to quit and to celebrate past successes, renewing the commitment to being tobacco-free.

All are welcome at Healthy Androscoggin’s Great American Smokeout community event November 20th in the Lepage Large Conference Room at St. Mary’s from 5:30-7pm. At this free event, come learn about resources available to help you or a loved one to quit.

In addition, Central Maine Medical Center will be recognized by the Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network for their efforts in creating a tobacco-free hospital environment. The event will also feature speakers including Carol Coles from the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine and Bonnie Bickford from the American Cancer Society. Light refreshments will be available.

For more information about these events or to learn more about quitting smoking you can contact Healthy Androscoggin at 795-5990 or online at www.healthyandroscoggin.org.

We would like to thank Keith for the tremendous contribution he makes to preventing youth tobacco use and helping current tobacco users to quit. He has dedicated countless hours to Healthy Androscoggin programs including the weekly Tobacco Support Group, the Tar Wars program to educate 5th graders about the dangers of tobacco use, as well as his efforts to organize the Great American Smokeout and Quit & Win each year. We could not have done it without Keith’s enthusiasm and dedication.

The next time you see Keith, please thank him for all he does for our community. And if you are inspired by Keith’s work and want to get involved with Tar Wars, the Great American Smokeout or any of our other health programs, please contact us at 795-5990 or info@healthyandroscoggin.org. Visit us on the web at www.healthyandroscoggin.org. Keep up the good work, Keith!

Dear Coalition Members,

On September 1st, 2008, An Act to Protect Children in Vehicles from Secondhand Smoke took effect here in Maine.

Staring on September 1, 2008 a warning will be given to motorists that are caught smoking in a vehicle when a child aged 16 years old or younger is present. The law carries a $50 fine for each offense that may be enforced following this 1-year warning period. Police officers are responsible for enforcing this law which prohibits search and seizure as a result of the violation. Violations are not moving violations and thus will not affect the offender’s driving record.

Please follow the link to learn more!

http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/chappdfs/PUBLIC591.pdf

The exposure to tobacco smoke is real.

39% of Maine children in grades 6-12 report being exposed to secondhand smoke in a car. (2006 Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey.)

Vehicles are small, confined spaces. Smoking in a car can expose children to very high concentrations of pollutants caused by secondhand smoke (’real time’ studies from Harvard and Stanford have shown mean levels of 8 to 33 times and peak levels from 14 to 57 times above healthy levels).

Children are often not able to tell a caregiver, parent, uncle or grandparent not to smoke. They have no recourse.

Second hand smoke causes numerous children’s ailments including asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infection, respiratory tract infections and sudden infant death syndrome.

Maine has kept pace with the public’s growing awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke. Laws have been enacted restricting smoking in virtually every public space and workplace.

If you have a special interest in preventing children from being exposed to tobacco and would like to teach a one hour Tar Wars class to fifth graders in Androscoggin County please contact Lisa Dunning at dunninl@cmhc.org or 795-5792 to learn more.

Next week, on September 9th, the Maine Public Health Association is holding regional meetings to allow those interested in public health to network, learn more about each other’s organizations and give input into the MPHA’s strategic plan.

Please see the attached flyer for more information about this regional meeting, held in Lewiston Any and all are welcome!

Best,

Healthy Androscoggin Staff