CDC Launches “Tips from Former Smokers” Campaign

On March 15, 2012, the Center for Disease Control’s Office on Smoking and Health launched a groundbreaking campaign to show the long term suffering caused by smoking. Called "Tips from Former Smokers", the campaign demonstrates what it is like to "live" with the adverse effects of smoking.　

Stomas, lung removal, heart attack, limb amputation and paralysis from stroke are just some of the horrible health effects these people have to deal with. Some people who are diagnosed with these life-altering conditions are less than 40 when they began suffering from very real health declines.

On a positive note, the campaign also serves to express that people can quit. By listening to tips from former smokers, the CDC is sending a strong reason to quit, as well as directing people to tools which will help them to succeed. Free resources are available by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW, or going to www.smokefree.gov. While smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, this new campaign will show what life might look like for those who continue to smoke.

For more information, go to http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/index.htm.

Blog written by guest blogger Kim Hageman, author of www.survivingoshkosh.com

Changes in Federal Food Aid Program Spur Stores to Stock Healthier Foods

.

Updates Improve Access to Fruits, Veggies, and Reduced-Fat Milk Without Costing Government or Families More　

A study published yesterday by the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that changes made in 2009 to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (often called the WIC program) prompted North Philadelphia corner stores, convenience stores, and bodegas that accept WIC vouchers to start offering healthier foods. The changes involved updating the selection of foods available to beneficiaries, commonly referred to as the WIC package. Prior to implementing the new regulations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture commissioned the Institute of Medicine to recommend ways to make the program healthier without making it more expensive for the government or families.


The study is one of the first to look at access to healthier foods as a result of the 2009 WIC program revisions, which represent the first changes to the WIC food package in 35 years. Although the study focused on stores in a small area of North Philadelphia, the revisions apply to food stores across the United States and could impact the availability of healthier foods for millions of women and children who participate in the program.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the study through its Healthy Eating Research program, which supports research on environmental and policy strategies with strong potential to promote healthy eating among children to prevent obesity, especially among lower-income and racial and ethnic populations at highest risk for obesity.

Post content from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation