Chair's Message

ATOD Section Chair's Column

September 2009

By Ann Mahony

As the Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Section puts the finishing touches on its program for the Philadelphia meeting between Nov.7-11, 2009, there is cause for celebration. The Section’s Business Meeting will be held on Saturday, Nov. 7, starting at 1 p.m., and on Sunday, Nov. 8, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. in the Marriott hotel.  Please come!  As Section members, this is your opportunity to participate and influence the Section’s priorities, annual program development and events.  Thanks to the time and commitment of the ATOD leadership team and the other sections’ members including the 50 abstract reviewers that the annual program is put in place, that APHA responds to legislative proposals on Capitol Hill, and that students are mentored to enter the alcohol, tobacco and other drug area of specialty in public health.  On this theme, the second annual ATOD Student Poster Showcase will take place on Monday, Nov. 9, from 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Philadelphia Convention Center’s Hall A/B (sessions 3072 and 3073).  The Section’s goal in sponsoring the Student Showcase is to provide the Section with the opportunity to mentor students’ work, provide opportunity for students to meet with the leaders in the ATOD field and to provide a small stipend to students underwritten by the Section’s fundraising efforts.  The students will be formally recognized at the Section’s awards event on Tuesday evening from 6:30-8 p.m. along with other awardees including the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Tom Babor.  Dr. Babor pioneered work in screening and brief intervention, which has resulted in the movement of identifying alcohol and drug problems before dependence in the primary care setting.  

The ATOD Section will continue to distinguish itself by printing an ATOD Section Program Guide highlighting the Section’s program agenda and events.  The Guide will be made available at both the ATOD Section booth #134 and the SHIN booth.  Information is also available online: http://apha.confex.com/apha/137am/webprogram/ATOD.html.

As the conversation on health reform remains alive, the move toward the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of tobacco is closer.  The opportunity for public comment remains open until Sept. 29, 2009 at the agency’s Web site:  http://fda.gov/tobacco.  Nominations to the FDA Committee’s on Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee are also being sought: http://www.fda.gov/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/TobaccoProductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/default.htm. This request for nominations for the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee was announced in the Federal Register issued on Wednesday, August 26, 2009, Docket FDA-2009-N-0394 and is available at:  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-20487.pdf.

I look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia.

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Fundraising Memo

From Cynthia Hallett, Fundraising Chair

Dear ATOD Section Member,
 
The Annual Meeting is just several weeks away, and the Section is pleased to share that we have another exciting, informative, and innovative slate of presentations and posters to showcase at the meeting.  While we are all aware that the economy has presented a challenge for many individuals and organizations, we are hopeful that you will be able to attend the meeting in Philadelphia to partake in the ATOD program offerings, as well as our business meetings and receptions.  Now is the time for all of us to join together to find opportunities for partnerships, collaborations or simply for moral support.
 
We have worked very hard over the past several years to involve more people to accomplish our goals.  And as we all know too well, bringing people together, maintaining a Web page, sending out newsletters, planning for the annual program and social events – to be blunt - cost money.  This year, we have added to our activities by looking for more ways to engage and involve students as well as other research, policy, and health professionals interested in ATOD issues.  In addition, we are planning our second annual Student Poster Awards that honor the best posters with a $300 cash award and a one year student membership with APHA.  Lastly, we hope to have a high profile speaker join us for a special reception at this year's meeting in Philadelphia.
 
As you may know, the Section receives a small amount of financial support from APHA membership dues to help support its activities, special events and functions, and awards and business receptions.  Sadly, it is not nearly enough to cover all of the expenses, even when budgeting very conservatively.  We continue to seek support from outside sponsors, and we would certainly benefit from your support as well.  Even a small contribution of $10 – $20 from each Section member would generate enough funds to support some of our most important efforts. 
 
Good News! Contributions to APHA ATOD Enrichment Account (#328092) are tax-deductible.*   Can we count on your support?   To make a donation, please use the Section Donation Form found at http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/3CDB9AB1-6A35-48D0-9425-4D41B4929251/0/APHASectionDonationForm.pdf.  Please be sure to circle ATOD and write in our Enrichment Account number, and fax it to Natasha Williams at (202) 777-2533.  Alternatively, you may send a check payable to the American Public Health Association, 800 "I" (Eye) Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001-3710, and earmark the check /note for: ATOD Enrichment Account (#328092).  If you have any questions, or perhaps know of other potential sources for sponsorship, please contact me at cynthia.hallett@no-smoke.org. 

Thank you very much for considering this request.   We would be honored and extremely grateful for your support.  Hope to see you in Philadelphia!

Sincerely,

Cynthia Hallett, MPH
Fundraising Chair
APHA, ATOD Section
*APHA Tax ID number 13-1628688

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Annual Meeting

APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition

Register for the meeting and make your hotel reservation soon (advance registration closes Oct. 2, housing closes Oct. 9). Note: Presenters must be individual members of APHA to present their paper(s) and must register in advance for the meeting. Session organizers and moderators are also required to be members and pay the appropriate registration fee. Hope to see you in Philadelphia!

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FDA and Tobacco Law

FDA Moves Forward on Implementation of Tobacco Law

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced an action regarding the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The Agency has officially established the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee.

The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee is tasked with providing advice, information and recommendations to the FDA commissioner on health and other issues relating to tobacco products. The committee will be asked to consider a variety of topics including:

• identifying the effects of the alteration of the nicotine yields from tobacco products.
• reporting on the impact of the use of menthol in cigarettes on the public health.
• advising on an application for modified risk (use of descriptors such as “light”) tobacco products.

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Underage Drinking Laws

Policy Analyses on Underage Drinking Laws

A series of policy analyses have been conducted to identify best practices to reduce underage fatal crashes.  A recent study conducted by Fell and collegues found that  four minimum legal drinking age laws have significant associations with fewer underage drinking-and-driving fatal crashes: possession; purchase; use and lose; and zero tolerance.  In addition, three more general laws were also found to be effective: having a level at 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration illegal per se law; secondary or upgrade to a primary seat-belt law; and an administrative license revocation law. 

For more info: http://www.attcnetwork.org/explore/priorityareas/science/tools/asmeDetails.asp?ID=610.

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Local Alcohol Policies Database

National Database Of Local Alcohol Policies

Researchers at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Alcohol Epidemiology Program are pleased to announce the release of a national database of local policies that restrict the sale of high-alcohol malt liquor and/or fortified wine. The database can be searched by city, policy type and restriction type, and it includes links to policy examples.  The database will be useful to researchers, policy-makers, community organizers and other individuals interested in learning more about local alcohol control and/or high-alcohol products. The data come from a telephone survey of alcohol policy and enforcement officials in the 100 largest cities in the United States.

The database is a product of a study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Rhonda Jones-Webb, PI; Traci Toomey and Toben Nelson, Co-Investigators; Pat McKee and Mark Miazga, Project Coordinators).  

The database can be found at http://www.epi.umn.edu/alcohol/aeppolicy/.

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American Legacy Foundation

Resources from the American Legacy Foundation

The Foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use focusing on:

For more info: http://www.americanlegacy.org/whoweare.aspx. 

For brief fact sheets visit: http://www.americanlegacy.org/factsheets.aspx.

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Resources on Injury Control

Resources from the Harvard Injury Control Research Center

The Means Matter Campaign

While most efforts to prevent suicide focus on why people take their lives, the Means Matter Campaign focuses on an often overlooked, but no less important issue: how a person attempts — the means they use — plays a key role in whether they live or die. The Means Matter Campaign aims to increase the proportion of suicide prevention groups who promote activities that reduce a suicidal person’s access to lethal means of suicide. For example, some state suicide prevention groups train mental health providers, pediatricians, clergy and others on how to talk with a suicidal person and their family about temporarily storing guns and lethal doses of medication out of the home or securely locked up until the situation improves. Means Matter is sponsored by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center with funding from the Bohnett Foundation and Joyce Foundation.

Please visit the Web site to learn more about the issue and ways to get involved:

http://www.meansmatter.org

The National Center for Suicide Prevention Training Online Workshops

The National Center for Suicide Prevention Training (NCSPT) is a free online educational resource to help public officials, service providers, and community-based coalitions develop effective suicide prevention programs and policies. There are currently four workshops being offered, the newest of which is the “The Research Evidence for Suicide as a Preventable Public Health Problem.” The first workshop “Locating, Understanding, and Presenting Youth Suicide Data” was recently updated to keep pace with changes in sources of local and national data on suicide.

Continuing education units (CEUs) are available for social workers and health educators for all workshops. NCSPT is a joint project of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Funding for development of the workshops was provided by the U.S. Health Resources and Service Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

To learn more about the workshops please visit: http://training.sprc.org/

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ATOD Meeting and Awards

The ATOD Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony

At the APHA Annual Meeting

WHO: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Section

WHAT: ATOD Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony

WHEN:  Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

WHERE:  Philadelphia Marriott Hotel (Room TBA)

WHY:  To recognize outstanding individual achievement in the ATOD field and to recruit new members into the Section. 

Plus, heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served.

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Student Assembly Meeting

APHA-Student Assembly Meeting

Fifth Annual National Student Assembly Meeting at the 137th APHA Meeting in Philadelphia.

Theme: Looking Back, Moving Forward: Transforming the U.S. Health Care System

When: Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 from 12:30 - 5:00 p.m.

The 2009 Student Meeting is designed for students from all schools and backgrounds to come together to discuss Health Care Reform and possible solutions to the existing problems in health care with a focus on Health IT. The meeting will include a: panel discussion, town hall meeting, professional development workshop, speed mentoring session, and employer exhibitors.

Registration is FREE but required. Registration form is available on: http://www.apha.org/membergroups/students/.  

Please send all completed registration forms or questions to studentmeeting@aphastudents.org.

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APHA Career Center

APHA Career Guidance Center

Don't miss this opportunity! Sign up now for a one-on-one or a group session with a professional career coach at APHA Annual Meeting & Exposition. These coaches can guide you in strategizing the next phase of your career and help you define your goals. Select a 45-minute individual session or a 90-minute group session. The group sessions are designed according to your career needs. To see which session best fits for you, please read about each coach's experience and education before setting an appointment. If you have never experienced coaching before, this is a wonderful introduction to what may become a useful service for your career!

This is the link to the the Career Guidance Center:

https://secure.commpartners.com/apha/careers/mentorlist.php?event=7

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Yerby Fellowship Program

Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Harvard School of Public Health

The Harvard School of Public Health requests applications for the 2009-2010 Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.  This fellowship program is specifically designed to increase the diversity of men and women pursuing academic careers in public health.  Working closely with accomplished faculty mentors, Yerby fellows gain experience and skills in areas critical to success in an academic environment: research, publication, teaching, and grant writing.  Fellows are prepared for positions in teaching, research, public health and public service leadership, and national health policy. 

Applicants should be a member of a group of underrepresented in public health or a first-generation college graduate.  Candidates must have received their doctoral degree before September 2010 in a relevant field within the biological, numerical, or social and policy sciences.  The application deadline is Nov. 1, 2009. 

For more information, please contact the program director Betty Johnson at bljohnso@hsph.harvard.edu or (617) 384-5410.

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UCSF Tobacco Control Fellowship

Fellowships in Tobacco Control Research

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Center For Tobacco Control Research And Education

The purpose of the fellowship is to attract individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds in medical, biological, social, behavioral and policy sciences to develop a new generation of academic leaders in tobacco control. Upon completion of training, fellows will be well positioned to be active participants in crucial policy debates about the future development and implementation of tobacco control interventions. 

The fellowship supports two years of postdoctoral training in tobacco related research. Postdoctoral fellows will have exposure to diverse training including both didactic coursework and individualized mentoring to build a personalized research program.  Fellows have come from an array of disciplines, including medicine, public health, nursing, economics, political science, law, sociology, psychology and cell biology. 

We offer individual mentorship with UCSF faculty along with courses in tobacco specific topics, health policy, cancer control and prevention, grant and scientific writing skills, career development, interdisciplinary research and biostatistics.

Postdoctoral trainees will receive an annual salary commensurate with their experience, approximately $37,000-$51,000, according to the NIH stipend scale.  Applicants may learn more about the Center, the fellowship program, and review the list of UCSF faculty and their research interests at our Web site, tobacco.ucsf.edu.

Academic Background Required: Doctorate/Equivalent Degree

Applications are due Jan. 27, 2010 for fellowships beginning July 1, 2010.

Please direct requests for information and applications to:

Fellowship Assistant

Phone: (415) 476-0140

Fax: (415) 514-9345

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RWJF Fellows Program

Health Policy Fellows

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows program provides the nation’s most comprehensive experience at the nexus of health science, policy and politics in Washington, D.C.  The fellowship is an outstanding opportunity for exceptional midcareer health professionals and behavioral and social scientists with an interest in health and health care policy. Fellows experience and participate in the policy process at the federal level and use that leadership experience to improve health, health care and health policy.

Up to six grants of up to $165,000 each will be made in 2010. Each fellow will receive up to $94,000 for the Washington stay in salary plus fringe benefits or fellowship stipend. Total support for the fellowship including fringe benefits may not exceed $165,000.

The application deadline is: Nov. 13, 2009.

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AHSR Conference

Addiction Health Services Research Conference

Theme: Health Care Reform, Parity, and Continuing Care Models: A Forum for a New Era in Addiction Services Research

The 2009 Addiction Health Services Research (AHSR) conference is occurring at the start of one of the most critical times in the history of substance use disorder prevention and treatment. The implementation of a new parity law and the new pursuit of health care reform by the Obama administration will have substantial impact on the delivery of substance use disorder treatment services. A research-driven agenda to respond to these changes is needed. With this transformation will come new opportunities for addiction health services research.  

The conference will convene at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, San Francisco on Oct. 28-30. AHSR welcomes researchers, practitioners, trainees, policy-makers, and other stakeholders interested in health services research as it relates to drug and alcohol dependence, as well as the intersection with mental health and other behavioral health care issues.

For more info: http://www.ucsfcme.com/blast2010/MPS10005.htm.

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APHA Press

APHA Press

APHA Press has three books in production of interest to epidemiologists and other health professionals that will be available at the Annual Meeting:

1. Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Control, 3^rd edition by Patrick Remington, Ross Brownson and Mark Wegner

2. Steven S. Coughlin, Ethics in Epidemiology and Public Health Practice, 2^nd edition

3. Steven S. Coughlin, Case Studies in Public Health Ethics, 2^nd edition

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ATOD Section Social Networking

ATOD Section Social Networking Opportunities

By Andrea Frydl and Mark Parascandola

The ATOD Section has entered the world of social networking Web sites!  Below you will find two new features that we have established in recent months to better engage, retain and recruit members into our section.

Facebook Group Page

The Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs Section is on Facebook! Join our group page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=40335753962 to see pictures, upcoming events, and other interesting features that you won't find on our Web site. 

Our Facebook page is meant to be an open forum for members, prospective members, and other interested parties, so we encourage you to leave comments, post links, videos, pictures and other media there. 

If you have difficulty signing up or finding our group page or if you have questions about our presence on Facebook, feel free to contact Andrea at frydlal@mail.nih.gov or Mark at paramark@mail.nih.gov.

Note: In order to access our Facebook page, you will need to have a Facebook account.  If you do not currently have an account with Facebook and would like to join, sign up at http://www.facebook.com.

SlideShare Account

Slideshare.net is a social media site meant to share posters, presentations, documents and other content about a particular topic.  The ATOD Section also has a slideshare account.  Thanks to many of our members, we have several documents posted there on topics ranging from tobacco cessation to methamphetamine use.  You can access our slideshare account at: http://www.slideshare.net/APHAATOD.

A link to our slideshare account is also posted on our Facebook group page, so if you have difficulty logging in or orienting yourself to the website, you can find the link from there. We encourage you to share your ATOD-related posters and presentations with our members.  If you have content that you would like us to add please email us with attachments to aphaatod@gmail.com.

Also, if you have questions about our slideshare account, feel free to contact Andrea Frydl at frydlal@mail.nih.gov or Mark Parascandola at paramark@mail.nih.gov.

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ATOD Listserv Available

The ATOD Section has set up a listserv to help members communicate with each other on matters relating to policy, practice and research in the areas our Section covers. The listserv is a way to quickly inform others of developments, solicit assistance on matters of ATOD policy and its implementation and alert our members to opportunities and events of interest.

Control of the listserv will remain exclusively with the ATOD Section, and all listings will be kept strictly confidential. Messages will be disseminated only after the sender and message content have been "vetted" as appropriate for our Section.

To join the listserv, e-mail your name and e-mail address to Listserv Coordinator Mary Brolin at brolin@brandeis.edu.

To provide a message for posting (after vetting), e-mail the material to Listserv Coordinator Mary Brolin at brolin@brandeis.edu. You do not have to be a member of the Listserv to post messages.

Tell your colleagues about upcoming events, conferences, programs, research, opportunities or anything you are interested in. If your e-mail address changes or you wish to unsubscribe, e-mail Mary as well.

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E-mail Address

Keep Your E-mail Address Up to Date

E-mail has become a primary means of communication within our Section and APHA. Please notify APHA of any changes in your e-mail address or other contact information at www.apha.org. If you are part of the ATOD Listserv, please notify Mary Brolin at brolin@brandeis.edu of any changes in your e-mail address.

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Newsletter Materials

Newsletter Articles/Materials Requested

This is your newsletter, so please send us information you would like to share with your colleagues. We're interested in summaries of conferences, commentaries on articles, research or policies and announcements about conferences. If you have important news, we'd like to hear about it and publish it in the APHA-ATOD Section Newsletter.

Please e-mail your news to Meelee Kim at mlkim@brandeis.edu. The deadline for our next issue, the Winter Issue, will be early February 2010.

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Section Leadership Table

Section Leadership Contact Information

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