March 11, 1996

The Arizona Smokers Helpline (ASH) at The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center recently received tobacco tax funding to provide tailored smoking- cessation services for adolescents and pregnant women.

"Studies show that teens who smoke respond best to peer counseling," says Scott Moldenhauer, ASH project coordinator. "Most adolescents overestimate the amount people smoke, providing a cue that tobacco is 'in.' We're telling them that smoking is on a decline, that cigarettes may have been cool during the days of Elvis and disco, but those days are dead."

Smoking also is a way teens can rebel against adults, he says. But cigarette advertising, used to attract teens to smoking, is formulated by adults.

"Adults from the tobacco industry are recruiting teens to nicotine addiction," Moldenhauer says. "This program will help children turn a critical eye toward tobacco advertising."

For pregnant women, the focus will be on the effects of smoking on the unborn and newborn baby. "The main message is that if you smoke while you're pregnant you increase the chances your baby will be stillborn, underweight and less intelligent," he says.

Since July 1995, ASH has received more than 1,000 calls from Arizona residents. Callers receive free telephone counseling, quit kits sent through the mail or lists of smoking-cessation programs in their area. People interested in receiving help should call (800) 556-6222 (outside Tucson) or 621-5382 (in Tucson).

NicNet, an Internet-based service designed to provide nicotine and tobacco resources, also has been funded with Proposition 200 money. Information includes tobacco prevention materials for children, cessation resources for people who want to quit tobacco products, as well as other general resources regarding tobacco and nicotine issues. NicNet can be accessed at http://www.medlib.arizona.edu/~pubhlth/tobac.html.

ASH and NicNet are part of the UA's Program for Nicotine and Tobacco Research and have been funded through a grant provided to a collaborative effort called the Arizona Tobacco Information Network (ATIN). Comprised of partners from the UA, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, ATIN's overall aim is to provide a statewide informational system geared toward tobacco prevention and smoking cessation.

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