Category: Articles

Master Settlement Agreement (MSA)

In 1998, 46 states, including Pennsylvania, entered into a Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the tobacco industry in which the companies agreed to pay, in perpetuity, annual payments to compensate states for some of the medical costs of caring for persons with smoking-related illnesses.

Pennsylvania was allotted an estimated $11 billion dollars to be disbursed in the first 25 years of the agreement. In 2001, Pennsylvania passed Act 77, which allocated MSA funds to support various health-related initiatives, including 12% for tobacco prevention and cessation.

Since 2001, legal rulings and legislation have eroded MSA funding for tobacco control.

In fiscal year 2017, less than 5% of Pennsylvania’s MSA funds were allocated to tobacco control, and Pennsylvania’s tobacco control budget totaled only 12% of the $140 million recommended by the CDC.

MSA-supported initiatives include:

• Integration of tobacco control and cessation programming with other chronic disease programming
• Elimination of secondhand smoke in outdoor spaces, such as parks
• Tobacco-free schools and worksites
• Cessation resources, such as free counseling and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

Source: Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco. Tobacco Control in PA 2017. (2017).

Additional Resources

• MSA Factsheet
• MSA and TRU
• MSA Resources from PACT

Healthy Choices, Healthy Children: Smoke-free Moms

September 20, 2018
Rodef Shalom, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Agenda

Welcome & Introductions

Cele Fichter-DeSando, MPM, Addiction Medicine Services, WPIC, UPMC

Tobacco Cessation: Before, During, and After Pregnancy

Susan Harshbarger RN, MSN, TTS, St. Clair Hospital

10 Years of Clean Indoor Air in PA
LGBT Health Needs Assessment
Allegheny Quits for Life

Tiffany Babinsack, MPA, Tobacco Free Allegheny

Roundtable Discussion

All

Adjourn

Slide Decks

• Presentation by Susan Harshbarger
• Presentation by Tiffany Babinsack
• PA 2018 LGBT Health Needs Assessment Findings (August, 2018)

Additional Resources

• 2018 MCH Brochure
• MCH Referral Form
• Tango Tuesday Flyer
• PA 2018 LGBT Health Needs Assessment
• Fax to Quit: https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/programs/tobacco/Pages/Fax-to-Quit.aspx
• PA Free Quitline: https://pa.quitlogix.org/en-US/
• ACHD Maternal and Child Health Services: http://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Health-Services/Maternal-and-Child-Health-Services/Maternal-and-Child-Health.aspx
• Maternal Cessation Toolkit: http://www.tobacco-cessation.org/PDFs/CommunityWorksiteToolkit.pdf
• ACOG Cessation: https://www.acog.org/Clinical-Guidance-and-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Smoking-Cessation-During-Pregnancy
• You Can Quit tear-sheet: https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/professionals/clinicians-providers/guidelines-recommendations/tobacco/clinicians/tearsheets/prenatal.pdf
• 4D Ultrasound video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRULLIckHd0
  Smoking and pregnancy video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-1Gm43tlHY

Free tobacco cessation (quit) services are available to anyone who lives in Allegheny County. The program is tailored to meet your specific needs.

Pittsburgh Mercy hosts a tobacco cessation group that meets weekly. All are welcome.

For more information, contact one of Pittsburgh Mercy’s certified tobacco cessation specialists:

• Anneke Shuster: 412-818-5684
• Kellen Hill: 412-225-3961
• Ebony Evans: 412-298-2794
• Erin Rectenwald: 412-999-8692
• Mike Luxemburger: 412-320-2332

Staff

• Joyce Petrow, Chief Operating Officer
• Tiffany Babinsack, Program Coordinator
• Natasha Neira, Program Assistant
• Alan Jones, Retail Compliance Liaison
• Cele Fichter-DeSando, Program Consultant

Board of Directors

• Mike Blackwood
• James Bulls
• Abi Fapohunda, PhD
• Chuck Fultz
• Cliff Gorski – Chair of Board
• Hannah Hardy
• Frank Vitale
• William Youngblood

Regional Primary Contractors

Eight regional primary contractors provide tobacco use prevention and cessation activities across Pennsylvania:

Allegheny Region

Counties served: Allegheny
Tobacco Free Allegheny
www.tobaccofreeallegheny.org
Phone: 412-322-8321 x302

Northeast Region

Counties served: Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming
American Lung Association in Pennsylvania
www.lung.org
Phone: 610-253-5060 x 241

Northcentral Region

Counties served:  Bradford, Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, and Union
American Lung Association in Pennsylvania
www.lung.org
Phone: 717-541-5864 x 127

Northwest Region

Counties served: Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Venango and Warren.
Erie County Health Department
www.ecdh.org
Phone: 814-451-6700

Philadelphia Region

Counties served: Philadelphia
Philadelphia Department of Public Health
http://www.phila.gov/health/ChronicDisease
Phone: 215-685-5693

Southeast Region

Counties served: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Schuylkill.
Health Promotion Council of Southeastern PA, Inc.
www.hpcpa.org or www.sepatobaccofree.org
Phone: 215-731-6154

Southcentral Region

Counties served: Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, and York
American Lung Association in Pennsylvania
www.lung.org
Phone: 717-541-5864 x 126

Southwest Region

Counties served: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Somerset, Washington, and Westmoreland.
Adagio Health, Inc.
www.adagiohealth.org
Phone: 724-944-2433

About Tobacco and the LGBTQA Community

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA) individuals face challenges when accessing and receiving care that may lead to preventable adverse health outcomes. A Healthy People 2020 report found LGBTQA youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide, more likely to be homeless, and have a higher risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

In addition, LGBTQA populations have the highest rates of tobacco, alcohol and other drug use. Transgender individuals experience a high prevalence of HIV/STI, victimization, mental health issues, and suicide. Gay and bisexual men have higher chances of major depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder compared to other men.

Pennsylvania 2018 LGBT Health Needs Assessment

Pennsylvania, like the nation and many states, has traditionally had limited data on LGBT health and wellness. In an effort to learn more about the health and wellness of Pennsylvania’s LGBT communities, the Pennsylvania Department of Health partnered with LGBT centers across the state to gather health and wellness information. The 2018 findings presented here cover a variety of health topics, chronic disease risks, and healthcare experiences. These data are intended to identify needs and inform plans to close gaps. Opportunities remain for additional data analyses and future data collection.

View the Pennsylvania 2018 LGBT Health Needs Assessment Summary Report

Pennsylvania LGBTQA Health Conference

On June 18-19, 2019, the PA Department of Health, PA Department of Human Services, Adagio Health, Northwest Pennsylvania Tobacco Control Coalition, Health Promotion Council, and Tobacco Free Allegheny held the Third Annual Pennsylvania LGBTQA Health Conference. This skills-based conference focused on addressing tobacco and behavioral health disparities through the lens of trauma informed care and resiliency.

Archived resources and additional information about this conference may be found here.

Additional Resources

•  Truth: Smoking and LGBT Communities
• CDC: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons and Tobacco Use
• This Free Life
• Smoking Out a Deadly Threat: Tobacco Use in the LGBT Community

Helping Patients Who Are Ready to Quit

As a healthcare provider, you likely know that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. Tobacco leads to disease and disability and harms nearly every organ of the body. The majority of tobacco users say they want to quit, and nearly half try to quit each year. For patients who are ready to quit, you can be the motivation they need to become former smokers.

When you see patients, take these three steps to help them become tobacco free:

• Ask every patient at each encounter about his or her tobacco use and document status.
• Advise every tobacco user to quit with a clear, strong personalized message about the benefits of quitting.
• Refer patients who are ready or considering quitting tobacco.

Fax to Quit

The Fax to Quit Program allows healthcare professionals to refer tobacco-using individuals to PA Free Quitline services for expert, evidence-based and confidential coaching to become tobacco-free.

How Fax to Quit Works

• Conduct a brief intervention to determine the tobacco user’s readiness to quit tobacco.
• Fill out the Fax to Quit referral form to enroll the tobacco user in Quitline services.
• Fax the Referral Form to PA Free Quitline. Quitline staff will contact the tobacco user within 48 hours.
• Referral source will receive confirmation of contact and fax-back reports on patient progress (HIPAA-covered entities only).

You may also refer patients to the PA Free Quitline via Provider Web Referral (For patients without NRT contra-indications.)

Additional information, including forms and referral process training, may be found on the PA Department of Health website

Additional information about the PA Free Quitline can be found on the CDC Website and at QUITLOGIX

Additional Resources

• CDC: Diseases and conditions associated with smoking
• CDC: Help Your Patients Quit Smoking
• Printable resources from CDC.gov
• treatobacco.net by the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
• Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T.
• North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC)
• Gov: Resources for Health Professionals
• FAQs for Health Care Providers
• QUITLOGIX e-Referral Program
• How to Talk to Patients about Tobacco (Video)
• Resources for:
  • Dental Professionals
  • Mental Health Care Professionals
  • Pharmacists
  • Vision Professionals