Director's Message

Nov. 9, 2007

To: All DHS employees

From: Bruce Goldberg, M.D., director

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"I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex."
~Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

The failure to pass Measure 50 this week is still on my mind. It saddens me that it's going to be just that much longer before our state will be able to ensure every child has the security that health care coverage brings.

But at the same time, I think it's important that we do not assume the results of this vote mean that Oregonians do not care about children's health. On the contrary, I hear from many people every day who want an Oregon in which everyone can get the health care they need to be healthy, and where we do all we can to promote health and prevent illness.

What's particularly unfortunate about the failure to raise the tobacco tax is the dual benefits it would have brought. Not only would it have provided access to health care coverage for 100,000 more children, it would have reduced the number of people who use tobacco. Research shows that the tobacco tax increase would have encouraged between 15,000 and 20,000 Oregonians to quit smoking, and would have prevented 30,000 youngsters from becoming addicted. In fact, raising the price of tobacco is the single best thing we can do to prevent kids from starting to smoke. The increased tobacco tax would have made a tremendously positive contribution to public health.

But the fight to ensure that all Oregonians can get the health care they need will continue, as will the effort to reduce smoking and other tobacco use. It's important that we all maintain our dedication to both of these efforts, because of the significant health benefits they create. The good news is that we're continuing to move both these issues forward, and this week I want to focus on reducing tobacco use and second-hand smoke.

Project Quit, the DHS campaign to help employees who want to quit smoking, is a component of the upcoming initiative to make DHS tobacco-free. DHS will fully implement its new tobacco use policy May 30, 2008, when the campuses of all DHS-owned and -operated facilities will go tobacco-free.

Project Quit, which is being led by our DHS, PEBB and EAP staff, kicks off January 8 with a series of brown bag lunches at several DHS locations. But employees who want to get an early start on quitting the habit can do so by participating in the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout next Thursday, a day each year when smokers are encouraged to stop using tobacco for one day.

If you're ready to quit smoking now, the Great American Smokeout is a great time to exchange that habit for a healthier, safer -- and tobacco-free - -lifestyle. You can get more information on how to quit, as well as access to resources to help you break the tobacco habit, by calling 1-800-QUITNOW.

I believe it is important that we, as DHS employees, try to set the standard for the healthy behaviors we are encouraging in others, and a key way we can do that is to end the use of tobacco.

Look for more information about Project Quit in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, you can get more information about quitting at http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/tobacco/.

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To provide feedback email: DHS.Directorsoffice@state.or.us

This message is intended for all department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.