The TRUTHs Miley Mania Adventure Seeks Contestants-   Anti-tobacco contest offers chance to win tickets to see Miley Cyrus

(Salt Lake City) What would bring 20 parent-child teams to face six riddles that compel them to travel more than 50 miles with nothing more than their own two feet and the local public transit system? The TRUTHs Miley Mania Adventure, of course! The contest, slated for June 20, is an Amazing Race-style competition to win tickets to see Miley Cyrus perform at Provos Stadium of Fire on July 4.

The contest is accepting entries from June 9 until June 18, and only Cyrus fans who are prepared to face physical and mental challenges need apply. The competition will require contestants to use their anti-tobacco knowledge to solve six riddles. Answers will lead them to their next clue, and to various locations across the Wasatch Front.

Teams must demonstrate speed, navigate public transportation, and travel upwards of 50 miles in the process. This rigorous competition is likely to test the endurance of even the most dedicated; practice runs have lasted up to seven hours. The 1st place team will win four tickets to Stadium of Fire featuring Miley Cyrus, while 2nd- through 5th place teams will win two tickets each. To enter the contest, visit www.fighttheugly.com( http://www.fighttheugly.com/). Each day two teams will be chosen at random to compete.

The TRUTH will put the fortitude of Miley Cyrus fans to the test while reinforcing an important anti-tobacco message, says Adam Bramwell, youth educator for The TRUTH. Its youth-focused efforts like this that have helped bring Utahs youth smoking rate down to 7.4 percentthe lowest in the nation.

The TRUTH is also giving away tickets to a premier of the new American Girl movie to those who come out to cheer the racers as they take off from the Gateways Olympic Snowflake Fountain on June 20 at 11:30 a.m.

The first 300 people to arrive will receive free movie tickets and can enter a raffle for two tickets to Cyrus performance. The drawing will take place at 6:15 p.m., just before the movie at Megaplex 12 Theater at the Gateway.

Utahs youth smoking rate is the lowest in the nation. Utahs high school students are three times less likely to smoke than their peers nationwide. Thirty-eight percent fewer high school students smoke today than they did during the campaigns early days in 1999.

Every day more than 1,500 people nationally under the age of 18 become regular smokers. About one-third of them will eventually die from a tobacco-related disease. Ninety percent of people start smoking before the age of 19 and most teens who smoke say they would not have started if they could do it over again. Nearly 190,000Utahns continue to smoke cigarettes, andmore than 1,100 Utahns die annually as a result of their own smoking.

For more information or to enter to win a place in The TRUTHs Miley Mania Adventure, visit www.fighttheugly.com( http://www.fighttheugly.com/).

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UDOH Observes ‘World No Tobacco Day’ by Illustrating the Dangers of Smoking in Cars- Environmental Health Scientist proves there is no safe way to smoke in cars

SALT LAKE CITY – As part of World No Tobacco Day, the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) showed Utahns just how dangerous smoking in cars can be. They reinforced that—even with the car windows down—there is no safe way to smoke in a car.

As part of the event today at the Union Pacific Depot, the UDOH invited Stanford University Environmental Health Scientist Neil Klepeis to conduct a live demonstration of this particular health hazard. Dr. Klepeis, known for his long-time research on secondhand smoke, used an aerosol monitor to test the levels of particulate pollution—the toxic, airborne pollutants found in cigarette smoke—inside a car in which someone had recently smoked. He also indicated where these levels fall within the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Air Quality Index.

“In this demonstration, we have shown that peak levels of toxic tobacco pollution in a car can reach 10 or 20 times the worst outdoor air pollution rated by the EPA,” said Klepeis. “The pollution level in the car is literally off the charts—going far beyond the hazardous rating where air is considered hazardous to everyone's health.”

The experiment demonstrated how rapidly these particles build up in a small, enclosed space. Within 20 seconds of the volunteer smoker lighting up in the car, the particle concentration reached “Very Hazardous” levels, according to the EPA Air Quality Index. Even more alarming? When the volunteer smoker extinguished the cigarette (and rolled down the windows) the levels were still considered hazardous.

“Even with windows open, tiny particles become trapped inside the air of the car where a child may breathe them deep into their lungs,” said Klepeis. “These particles can cause serious, acute health problems, including lung irritation, respiratory infection, and asthma attacks.”

“Dr. Klepeis’ demonstration truly illustrated the dangerous impact of smoking in a car—even if it is only one cigarette,” said Amy Sands, program manager, UDOH Tobacco Prevention and Control Program. “People who smoke in cars should realize that this is not only a health hazard to them but also a major health hazard to all passengers in the car, especially children.”

According to Sands, more than 50,000 people die each year from diseases caused by secondhand smoke, including heart disease and lung cancer. “We hope this demonstration will encourage smokers to consider the health of those around them and not smoke in their car,” Sands said.

As part of the event, UDOH also handed out smoke-free kits with cards for smokers to sign, pledging to protect their children from the dangers of secondhand smoke by making their homes and cars smoke free.

For more information about the statewide tobacco prevention effort, please visit www.tobaccofreeutah.org.

Utah Department of Health Introduces “We Did It” Campaign
For the first time, The TRUTH tailors its message to non-tobacco users

SALT LAKE CITY – It all starts with the tobacco user. He or she has to want to quit in order to succeed. But also important is the support of a tobacco user’s friends and family members. That’s the basis for the Utah Department of Health’s (UDOH) new “We Did It” campaign, launching on Oct. 15.

While the highly successful “I Did It” campaign specifically targeted smokers and featured success stories of ex-smokers from across Utah, the “We Did It” campaign will target the tobacco users and their friends, co-workers and families – underscoring the process of quitting smoking as being a communal effort. That message is relayed through all media, which includes TV, radio, billboards and a new Web site, WeDidItStory.com.

“Having social support for a quit attempt makes a person 50% more likely to succeed,” said Lena Dibble, media coordinator, Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, UDOH. “This is the first time we have tailored our message to non-tobacco users — we’re doing so because we know how integral they are to the process of quitting tobacco. We are confident the campaign will be useful to both parties.”

All media in the campaign promotes the Web site, WeDidItStory.com. While UtahQuitNet.com has already served as a direct resource for tobacco users, WeDidItStory.com educates people close to tobacco users on how best to be supportive through the quitting process. The Web site offers practical guidance and tips to help loved ones quit, and make homes and businesses smoke free, as well as success stories, and information on tobacco trends in Utah.

Each of the four 30-second advertisements for TV illustrates a quit tip provided on WeDidItStory.com. One spot, for example, shows a man driving looking agitated, as though he is having a nicotine craving. His daughter in the back seat hands him a stick of gum. The first segment of the commercial is shown from the man’s perspective, followed by information about the Utah Tobacco Quit Line. The second half of the spot portrays the scene from the daughter’s point of view, followed by a tagline promoting the Web site. The dual perspectives are intended to bridge the gap between tobacco users and non-users.

Additionally, four radio spots will present both user and non-user perspectives in monologues. Pairing the quit line and WeDidItStory.com as resources reinforces the concept that sharing responsibility between both users and non-users is the best way to ensure
quitting tobacco.

“We hope these resources are used to let tobacco users know that they are not alone in their quit attempts,” Dibble said. “Tobacco use affects everyone — that means everyone has a role in making Utah tobacco free.”

For more information about the statewide tobacco prevention effort and to read the 2007 annual report, please visit www.tobaccofreeutah.org.