WOONSOCKET, R.I., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The CVS Health
Foundation today announced a new grant to the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to help improve counseling by
all pediatric health care providers around tobacco and exposure to
secondhand smoke. The program will provide clinicians with the
messages, tools and counseling protocols needed to screen for
secondhand smoke exposure and better prepare them to
speak with parents and families about the importance of reducing
tobacco use.
While the rate of smoking among adults and youth are
at all-time lows in the U.S., the ultimate goal of controlling
tobacco consumption as the biggest preventable cause of
disease and death requires incremental progress on many fronts,
including preventing exposure to secondhand smoke, especially among
children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, nearly 41 percent of children ages 3
to 11 are exposed to secondhand smoke, which
even at brief levels can be harmful to a
person's health.
Pursuing a further reduction in tobacco use and
nicotine addiction among young
people and increasing access to smoke-free
environments continues to be a priority for many Americans,
as evidenced by the results of a new CVS
Health/Morning Consult poll. According to the national survey
of 2,001 U.S. registered voters, 86 percent feel it's
important to reduce youth smoking
rates. Thirty-seven percent of all respondents say they
are so concerned with exposure to secondhand smoke
they exclusively seek out smoke-free locations when they leave
their homes.
"With an alarming number of children still being exposed to
secondhand smoke every day, working with the American Academy of
Pediatrics to help educate physicians and parents and help curb
exposure is an important step in our efforts to help deliver the
first tobacco-free generation," said Eileen
Howard Boone, president of the CVS Health Foundation. "We're
honored to be working with this respected organization that has
demonstrated success in helping to increase education and awareness
around the dangers of secondhand smoke."
To help address these alarming trends
and reduce the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure,
the AAP will hold two in-person training sessions in 2016
for pediatricians and other child health clinicians, who
act as the primary source of medical information for
parents. A $110,000 grant from
the CVS Health Foundation to AAP will cover the costs of the
meetings, which will feature content produced by the AAP.
Each session will help health care professionals
implement proven, easy-to-use ways to better counsel
parents on the importance of quitting smoking and the use of
other tobacco products and how to ensure all places
where children spend time are smoke-and tobacco-free. In
addition to access to in-person training sessions, participants
will also be provided with easy-to-use tools, such as online
resources and other content.
"Most parents who smoke know that secondhand smoke is harmful to
children and other nonsmokers," said Karen
Remley, MD, MBA, MPH, FAAP, CEO/Executive Director of the
American Academy of Pediatrics. "The American Academy of Pediatrics
is committed to equipping pediatricians with the tools they need to
educate parents and help families reduce children's exposure to
second hand smoke across the country. This grant through the CVS
Health Foundation will help us bring our evidence-based guidance to
more physicians in high-impact training sessions."
The grant to the AAP is part of Be The
First, CVS Health's $50 million,
five-year initiative to help deliver the nation's first
tobacco-free generation. The initiative, announced in March 2016,
includes education, tobacco-control advocacy and
healthy behavior programming.
About the American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 66,000
primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and
pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and
well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. The
AAP. For more information, visit www.aap.org and
www.healthychildren.org and follow us on Twitter @AmerAcadPeds. For
more information on our Julius B.
Richmond center which is committed to protecting children
from tobacco and secondhand smoke, visit
http://www2.aap.org/richmondcenter/.
About CVS Health
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) is a pharmacy innovation company helping
people on their path to better health. Through its more than 9,600
retail pharmacies, more than 1,100 walk-in medical clinics, a
leading pharmacy benefits manager with nearly 80 million plan
members, a dedicated senior pharmacy care business serving more
than one million patients per year, and expanding specialty
pharmacy services, the Company enables people, businesses and
communities to manage health in more affordable and effective ways.
This unique integrated model increases access to quality care,
delivers better health outcomes and lowers overall health care
costs. Find more information about how CVS Health is shaping the
future of health at https://www.cvshealth.com.
CONTACT: Mary Alfieri,
401-770-9811, mary.alfieri@cvscaremark.com
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