431: Harmful Nicotine Formulas, Wildfire Smoke Bloggers

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, May 31, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson.

Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

NEIL CHARVAT: 

Well, there have been successes with flavor restrictions. I think the main issue remains the increased nicotine levels in certain tobacco products.

JOHNSON: 

Neil Charvat is the director of the tobacco prevention and control program in North Dakota, talking about the never-ending fight against big tobacco on World No Tobacco Day.

CHARVAT: 

The introduction of salt-based nicotine to allow the body to tolerate higher concentrations of nicotine has increased the intensity of addiction. Products like Juul, or Zyn, and Lucy, using this type of nicotine are creating higher levels of addiction and dependence in the people who use them.

JOHNSON: 

Charvat says part of the challenge is that many people continue to believe vaping is safer than smoking.

CHARVAT: 

People seem to associate a certain level of safety or harm reduction for people using these products. It's a bit like addressing alcohol addiction by promoting light beer, if you will. In our state, we are seeing people of all ages willing to switch between nicotine products to maintain their addiction to nicotine.

JOHNSON: 

He says public health must continue to push back on misconceptions that are making people sick.

CHARVAT: 

The industry has done a spectacular job in differentiating between tobacco products and tobacco-free nicotine. Whether the nicotine is derived from tobacco or is a synthetic product, the result is the same. It's similar to addressing opioid addiction issues. You're not trying to deal with a heroin addiction and ignore fentanyl. The addiction and addiction treatment are the key messages regarding tobacco and nicotine products.

JOHNSON: 

Wildfire season is underway in some parts of the U.S. Washington State partners with many jurisdictions to provide information about the air quality impacts of wildfires with the Washington Smoke blog.

Kaitlyn Kelly is an air quality policy specialist. She says the blog is a one-stop shop for everything related to wildfires and wildfire smoke.

KAITLYN KELLY: 

It has the EPA's fire and smoke map, and that gives you information on the current air quality conditions. It also has the locations of fires. And then this blog actually has our state Department of Ecology's forecasting information so you can make plans and make decisions up to five days out of where there's going to be wildfire smoke. And then it has a page for our health information from the Washington State Department of Health.

JOHNSON: 

Kelly says the blog also includes original content.

KELLY: 

We'll write blog posts during wildfire season by all these experts and we kind of go into a narrative explanation around what's happening in wildfire smoke, why is it bad for your health. And then the public can ask and answer questions on the blog post, so it's a way that we can directly get engaged with people seeking information around wildfire smoke.

JOHNSON: 

You can read the blog using the link in the show notes.

Also today, Idaho's Bureau of Equity and Strategic Partnerships opened one year ago. Bureau Chief Dr. Palina Louangketh says one challenge has been the lack of diversity in the state.

PALINA LOUANGKETH: 

We talk about rural and remote Idahoans. We talk a lot about health literacy, about our youth, about women, children, LGBTQ priority populations, and our veteran populations. And so, the challenge remains helping Idahoans—meaning the partners that we're working with—really define consistently what health equity means for their organizations, for their work, and how do we align that to make sure that we are working in alignment to achieving similar goals.

JOHNSON: 

Louangketh left Laos when she was four years old. She talks about the experience as a refugee and its impact on her work helping people in Idaho. Listen for more of that conversation tomorrow.

Finally this morning, stay up to date on everything happening in public health when you sign up for ASTHO's Public Health Weekly email newsletter—there's a link in the show notes.

That'll do it for today's newscast. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information.

I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.