Press Release Archive

2002

• Oregon Tobacco Quit Line logs 60,000 calls -- More calls to come as New Year's resolutions bring record number.
  
  
• New second-hand smoke law marks successful first year -- Poll shows most Oregonians support Smokefree Workplace Law.
  
  
• Oregonians Smoking Less -- Calls to Oregon Tobacco Quit Line Go Up; Sales of Cigarettes Statewide Shows Steady Decline.

2001

• Grant Will Help Pregnant Smokers Quit Tobacco -- A new grant will help the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) assist pregnant smokers in their efforts to quit, thus decreasing the number of infants harmed by tobacco.
  
  
• Oregon's Workplaces Go Smokefree in 2002 -- All Oregonians to Benefit from Reduced Secondhand Smoke Exposure-- On January 1, 500,000 more Oregonians will be protected from secondhand smoke on the job as a result of Oregon's new Smokefree Workplace Law.
  
  
• Data Show Fewer Women Smoke During Pregnancy -- Oregon is making headway in reducing tobacco use among expectant mothers, according to data that appear in the Oregon Vital Statistics Annual Report for 1999.
  
  
• School-based Tobacco Prevention Programs Reduce Student Smoking -- A new study shows that the school-based component of Oregon's tobacco prevention program is making a significant difference among eighth graders.
  
  
• Oregon Woman Featured in Anti-chewing Tobacco Ad -- Television ads will feature Tina Cary, from the eastern Oregon town of Prairie City, who lost her husband four years ago to cancer caused by chewing tobacco.
  
  
• Tobacco quit line to help teen tobacco users kick the habit -- Many of the nearly 20 percent of Oregon high-school juniors who smoke say they want to quit. Now they can get help from the newly trained staff and the more youth-oriented quit packets available at the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line.

2000

• New TV, billboard ads scheduled for anti-tobacco program -- A new round of hard-hitting anti-tobacco advertisements will hit Oregon's airwaves and billboards as early as Monday.
  
  
• Great American Smokeout a great time to quit tobacco -- Nov. 16 is the Great American Smokeout. That brings a reminder from public health officials that the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line can help those who want to stop smoking.
  
  
• Smoking rates in Oregon decline dramatically; eighth-grader smoking down 41%. -- New data released today by the Oregon Department of Human Services show a dramatic drop in youth and adult smoking, including a reduction among eighth-graders that doubled the national average.
  
  
• Oregonians Are Calling it Quits -- The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line just received its 15,000th call from tobacco users wanting help to quit.
  
  
• What are the health and economic consequences of smoke-free workplaces? -- This guest opinion is by Clay Parton, manager of the Health Services's Tobacco Prevention and Education Program in the Oregon Department of Human Services.
  
  
• New Study: Smokefree Workplaces May Help Smokers Quit -- A recent increase in no-smoking ordinances in Oregon may do more than protect people from secondhand smoke. Researchers have just learned smokers employed in locations with ordinances restricting smoking were up to 50 percent more likely to quit than smokers in regions with no such laws.
  
  
• Rule Change Protects Children from Secondhand Smoke -- New state rules bar smoking in registered child-care homes. The Child Care Division of the Oregon Department of Employment has adopted new rules prohibiting smoking in registered family child-care homes.
  
  
• April 5 is National Kick Butts Day -- Oregon youth smoking down, Clinton highlights decrease in youth tobacco use.
  
  
• Oregon Launches New Anti-tobacco Advertisements Amid Program Success -- Cigarette sales continue decline, new television ads highlight risk of impotence.

1999

• Oregon Tobacco Quit Line Offers Busy Smokers Chance to Quit Tobacco for New Millennium -- At the dawn of the new millennium, change is on people's minds.
  
• Smoking Ban doesn't Hurt Liquor or Beer Sales -- Study shows no overall economic impact on bars while employees and customers get significant health benefits.
  
  
• Oregon's Anti-Tobacco Efforts are Saving Lives and Money -- Oregon's successful tobacco use reduction program stands in stark contrast to news stories lamenting the lack of progress around the county.
  
  
• Secondhand Smoke Threatens Children -- Oregon children exposed unnecessarily to this deadly toxin. Secondhand smoke seriously damages the health of almost half the world's children, according to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.).
  
  
• Early Harm From Smokeless Tobacco May Be Reversible -- Smokeless tobacco users may actually catch a break, if they are willing to give up their bad habit. A new study shows that most pre-cancerous changes in the mouth from snuff and chewing tobacco use vanish within weeks after quitting.
  
  
• World's Largest Ashtray Invites Smokers to Quit -- As part of World No Tobacco Day, Portland had the World's Largest Ashtray in Pioneer Courthouse Square.
  
  
• Where have all the billboards gone? -- As a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between state Attorneys General and the major tobacco companies, the industry is required to remove all tobacco related billboards advertising its products by April 22, 1999.
  
  
• Chew Related Cancer Survivor Tells Story in New Spot -- Rick Bender lost half of his face from the use of chew tobacco and now he is helping the Oregon Health Services with its efforts in reducing the use of this dangerous product.
  
  
• Study Shows Oregon's Tobacco Prevention Program Is Working -- The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the first national scientific review of Oregon's Tobacco Prevention Program today, and the news is good.
  
  
• Oregon Health Services Unveils New Anti-Tobacco Ads for the New Year -- With the coming of the New Year, the Oregon Health Services continues its successful anti-tobacco public education program with the unveiling of new attention-grabbing advertisements.

1998

• Customized Tobacco Oregon Tobacco Quit Line Offers Help to Kick the Nicotine Habit -- Oregon Health Services helps tobacco users keep New Year's resolutions to quit with the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line, a toll-free number to get help in quitting tobacco.
  
  
• Oregon Tobacco Prevention and Education Program Saving Money and Lives -- Current efforts by the state to reduce tobacco-use by Oregonians will save $156 million and 600 lives.
  
  
• Governor Speaks Out for Tobacco Reduction -- Governor John Kitzhaber today unveiled Oregon's new Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, a $17 million comprehensive statewide effort aimed at reducing tobacco use.
  
  
• Contract Awarded for Tobacco Awareness Campaign -- A contract for the Statewide Awareness and Education Campaign, an important component of the Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, has been awarded to the Oregon Tobacco Prevention Alliance (OTPA).

1997

• Tobacco Prevention and Education Program Gets Underway -- Oregon's Tobacco Prevention and Education Program is underway and its presence is beginning to be felt in communities throughout the state.
  
  
• Tobacco Prevention Ads Begin Airing -- Beginning the week of November 24 the Oregon Health Services, through its Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, begins airing tobacco prevention ads on commercial and cable television stations in Oregon.
  
  
• Public Meeting Notice: Tobacco Reduction -- The Tobacco Reduction Advisory Committee will meet on Friday, October 17, 1997 to advise DHS Health Services on the development and implementation of a new comprehensive tobacco prevention and education program, as mandated by Ballot Measure 44.