It’s been a busy three years for the Carter County Health Department.
Carter was one of 95 counties that qualified for a three-year Tobacco Settlement allocation in 2014, provided by the state, with $15 million being disbursed throughout the counties in the hopes of addressing the use of tobacco.
Funding within the county has netted significant gains, according to recent information provided by the health department with reductions noted for ninth graders that smoke, pregnancy smoking and success from the Freedom From Smoking classes.
“We are so proud of the things we’ve been able to accomplish in the last year with our three target areas,” CCHD Tobacco Coordinator Jilian Reece said. “Reducing smoking with our Baby & Me Tobacco Free program, reducing secondhand smoke with our Freedom From Smoking classes and various other events and activities throughout the community, and youth-smoking initiation. We are so excited and have been so amazed by our FACT Summit teens and what they’ve come back and done in our community.”
Newest county data released show that pregnancy smoking was reduced by two percent (28.4 percent of the population) and the rate of ninth graders that smoke fell by 2.4 percent (15.3 percent ninth grade population).
“We’ve definitely seen a decrease in every area that we’ve been monitoring as far as tobacco use in the community,” she said. “We know that we are in a great place to continue those programs. We hope by continuing work in these three target areas that we can continue to help serve the residents of Carter County the next year.”
Currently 30-plus mothers are enrolled in the Baby & Me Tobacco Free program. While geared to assist mothers and significant others to stop smoking, women that are pregnant and quit while joining the program and able to receive $25 a month in diaper voucher’s through the baby’s first year.
CCHD reported one recent story of an attendee that saw a significant impact from the program. The boyfriend of the mother that attended that class was able to receive work at a factory that was 100 percent smoke free and the family credited the Baby & Me program.
And the drive to stop tobacco usage has spread to the youth in the community.
This year, 13 teenagers from Carter County attended the FACT Summit, geared for young people to encourage their peers to not use products, and have hit the ground running since.
Along with having Pate Anglin serve as a teen ambassador for the group, county FACT teens have participated in a multitude of projects, including having their peers to sign pledges to remain tobacco free, working with the “I’m not a replacement” campaign, and sponsoring a teen hang out night at the Carter County Drug Prevention Coalition Youth Opportunity Center to name just a few. According to Reece, the teens have already received 600 pledges from their peers and were recently able to hand out information to over 1,500 children at a recent Halloween event.
FACT is also beginning their “Starters Never Start Campaign” with Elizabethton High School. The students worked with a professional photographer to have images of high school athletes used as banners that will be displayed inside the high school and elementary schools.
“I can’t say enough about our FACT Summit teens,” Reece said. “They work hard and I’m excited to see what they’ll have in store for next year.”
The new year will be busy with another Freedom From Smoking program fixing to get underway. Beginning Monday, Jan. 9, classes will be held inside the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library at 5 p.m. and last every Monday during January and February.
“We’re so grateful for the participants that have showed up and worked so hard in all of our Freedom From Smoking classes in the past,” Reece said. “It is amazing to watch the participants learn from each other, encourage each other and then be successful throughout their quit-attempt during the classes.”
And the program wouldn’t succeed without the help of partners, according to the coordinator.
“We’re grateful for each of our community partners,” Reece said. “MedicalCare, the library … they work with us to provide space for these classes then you have the dozens of businesses and organizations that promote the classes.”
For more information on upcoming events, contact Reece at Jilian.Reece@tn.gov or call (423) 543-2521.