Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco:   The slight increase in smoking prevalence detected by the National Health Interview Survey is cause for concern but probably not alarm. The upward trend was small (less than 1%) but it should definitely give us pause. Smoking prevalence has reduced over the years due to a number of factors. The increasing cost of smoking from excise taxes and price increases, as well as smoke-free indoor air restrictions, have both led to reductions in smok... [More]

Krista Gilbert, Quit Coach, Service Delivery:   It can be easy to get overwhelmed by the tobacco problem. Tobacco is still the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Every day I talk to people suffering from emphysema or heart disease and tobacco is largely to blame. I talk to people whose budgets are drained by the price of their habit and whose families are begging them to quit. Tobacco takes its toll. But then I take a step back and look at the BIG picture. I think of w... [More]

Ryan Crawford, Quit Coach Supervisor, Service Delivery:   If any country on earth is culturally defined through cigarettes, it’s Spain. Butts crushed on the stone streets, olive-skinned Sevillanos taking drags in the late hours of Féria, smoke misting every bar in Barcelona—it seems you forget that real air actually exists in Spanish public until you get back to the smoke-free airport for your return flight. Until now. Spain is considering a revolutionary, culture-warp... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager:   Here in India at the 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is center stage.  The WHO FCTC is a treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization. Since being adopted on February 27, 2005 it has since become one of the most widely embraced treaties in UN history and, as of today, has already 163 Parties. While the US is a party to the treaty we are not bound by it.  Why?  Bec... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager:   In this city of nearly 20 million people, there is order to the chaos if you pay attention.  Cars, taxis (by the millions), bicycles, carts, and pedestrians do a dance we in the West cannot even imagine. Here you have Bollywood on one extreme and an astounding 55% of the population (nearly 10 million people) living in shantytowns and slums. But this week there are an extra 2,000 people in Mumbai who are attending the 14th World Conference on T... [More]

Erin Thompson, Marketing Manager:   Next week, thought leaders in the tobacco cessation industry will gather together in Mumbai, India for the 14th annual World Conference on Tobacco or Health. Free & Clear's very own Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager, Tobacco, and Tim McAfee, Chief Medical Officer, will be joining the many voices discussing new strategies for global tobacco control. The agenda includes presentations on and discussions about youth tobacco prevention, tobacco-free... [More]

Erin Thompson, Marketing Manager:   Last week the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) held a teleconference to announce the launch of their new tobacco website for employers, which coincided with the Great American Smokeout. The NBGH hopes this site, which walks employers through the different stages of implementing a smoke-free initiative, will be the definitive resource for employers on tobacco cessation. Dr. Fred Williams, Director of Health Benefits Management at Qu... [More]

Yuki Yang, Senior Director, Client Services:   What does it take for an Ivy League school to offer its employees a benefit that could decrease their healthcare spend while increase the health and wellness of its employees?  Seems to make sense perfect sense that an Ivy League school would have comparable benefits for the very people who make the school what it is known for today. Recently an article was written in the Yale Daily News, stating that Yale falls short in helping its e... [More]

Jordan Alhadeff, Supervisor, Service Delivery:   Well it’s the start of the 2008-09 Seahawks season and I know I am!  I have my tickets, my Seahawks shirt, and my tailgating buddies.  Like last year, I am looking forward to the pre-game festivities followed by the walk over to Qwest Field and topped off by talking about the match up with my buddies while they have a cigarette in the designated smoking area before taking our seats However this year is a bit different, and no, Qwest F... [More]

Ken Wassum, Senior Product Manager   We have become somewhat numb to the fact that 440,000 Americans a year die from a preventable cause – cigarette smoking. That’s 1,200 deaths per day. Use whatever analogy you want -- 48 Amtrak accidents per day where 25 die, 3 fully loaded jumbo jets crashing daily with all lost – you name it. It is a lot of lives tragically lost. The U.S. is not alone in this loss of life. It happens world-wide, every day. A new report issued by the Royal Coll... [More]