•     Loss of revenues due to much greater health care costs due to smoking related diseases

•     Loss of productivity from workers who take time for smoking breaks 

•     Higher insurance premiums due to smoking employees and related illness

•     Costs due to cleaning and repairing the ventilation system and filters due to tar buildup; as well as the ventilation system itself, which cost many thousands of dollars 

•     Costs to the employer for pregnant employees and employees with asthma, COPD heart disease, lung disease, and cancer etc., who miss work due to sickness from secondhand smoke exposure 

•     Costs due to cleaning and repairing damage to furniture, overlays (the felt tops of table games from cigarette ash burns), the carpet from cigarette burns and holes, tar buildup on light fixtures and walls, third-hand smoke throughout the building (and in the rooms--bedding, curtains, carpet and fabric-covered furniture) and on employee clothing which has to be cleaned more frequently, etc

•     Costs due to deaths (lost revenue) from gamblers who died from smoking-related illness (smokers die on average of 14 years sooner had they not smoked - CDC); 

•     The years of wisdom, culture, and community that is lost from their own Tribal members who  make up the majority of the employees and die prematurely 

-----Attached Letter-----

 

Dear National Native Network Members, 

 

Thank you for your commitment to improving the health of your community and your work in preventing commercial tobacco abuse. 

 

On behalf of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH), the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium (TTAC) is working to identify Tribal specific tobacco control materials, tool kits, and media that have been developed by Tribes and Tribal Organizations.  

 

TTAC is collecting information about these materials to gain a better understanding about culturally appropriate messages and strategies being used to reach American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) who are adversely affected by commercial tobacco use.  We would also like to gain insight on trends, gaps in existing materials, and key issues as a basis for future planning.

 

OSH recognizes that AI/AN’s have a higher prevalence of commercial tobacco use when compared to other racial/ethnic groups and the use of tobacco is part of some AI/AN cultures as a sacred ceremonial practice. This effort to learn about existing materials is part of a larger plan for OSH to make concerted efforts to address commercial tobacco use in a way that is culturally acceptable and effective, while being respectful of tribal sovereign governments and Native American heritage.

 

How you can help: 

 

Tell us about existing educational materials, communication toolkits, or media (print, TV, radio) that your organization has created to support the goal of reducing commercial tobacco abuse in AI/AN populations by completing the materials submission form at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22EW2BGAQM4 or replying to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  with the following information by Friday, March 23rd. For each item, please tell us:

 

     1. Name of the campaign:

 

     2. Type of material(s) produced (please select from the following list):

 

          ▶ TV

 

          ▶ Radio 

 

          ▶ Print (e.g. posters, pamphlets, brochures) 

 

          ▶ Out of home (e.g. billboards)

 

          ▶ Digital media (e.g. banners, buttons, social networking)

 

          ▶ Earned media (e.g. op-ed articles, letters to the editor)

 

          ▶ Toolkit

 

          ▶ Curriculum

 

     3. Date produced:

 

     4. Organization(s) that developed it:

 

     5. Has this material been evaluated? 

 

          a. If so, would you be willing to share the evaluation results?

 

     6. Contact information (if available) for someone who can be contacted for further information, if needed:

 

          a. Name  

 

          b. Phone:

 

          c. Email address: 

 

If you know of messaging or materials that you did not produce, but have seen in use, please tell us about them. If available, provide contact information for the agency or individual(s) that developed them. In addition, if you know of other people or organizations that are leaders in creating tobacco prevention materials for AI/AN populations, please forward this request to them.

 

In the future, we may request your permission to highlight selected materials on the National Native Commercial Tobacco Abuse Prevention Network website, www.keepitsacred.org and/or the OSH Media Campaign Resource Center (MCRC) website, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/mcrc, an award-winning repository of tobacco control media and materials. Please note: Materials will not be posted without permission, and you may choose which (if any) of your materials are made available through these websites. If permission is granted, your organization or tribe will most certainly retain ownership and copyright of all data, materials, and information. Posting your materials to these Web sites is primarily for the purpose of raising awareness about commercial tobacco abuse and to highlight effective communication techniques for addressing commercial tobacco abuse in AI/AN populations. Should other tribes, organizations, states or communities express interest in using your materials, we will certainly let you know.

 

Thank you in advance for helping OSH to better address the problem of commercial tobacco abuse in AI/AN communities, and we look forward to hearing from you. If you have questions about this project, please contact Debra Morris, TTAC, at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 

 

Best regards,

 

Debra G. Morris, MPH, MCHES

 

Director, Technical Assistance • Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium (TTAC)

 

Rollins School of Public Health • Emory University

 

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  • www.ttac.org