What's Happening

By Jennifer Geisler | September 24, 2019
Program Coordinator, ETR

Tobacco prevention in Indian Country is different. Every tribe is unique, and programs need to be tailored tribe by tribe. California has 109 tribal nations, so keeping programs relevant to each tribe is a big task. Respect for elders and commitment to youth play a vital role in any of our tobacco-related messaging. It is also important to acknowledge and honor the role of sacred tobacco in tribal life.

In California, we have an exciting new state tobacco prevention grant that addresses these issues. 

By Leslie Ferreira, MPA | August 14, 2019
Training and Outreach Manager, ETR

You’ve heard the adage, “Youth are leaders of tomorrow.” But truthfully, young people are leaders today. Our youth are stepping into their power like never before and demanding the space to make their voices heard. As adults, it’s our responsibility—and our privilege—to seek, validate and lift their voices in tangible and genuine ways.

By Narinder Dhaliwal, MA | July 10, 2019
Director of ATOD, ETR

We are natural advocates, those of us in the public health world. We talk to our children about tobacco. We encourage our family members to use sunscreen. We work every day to promote the health of our communities. Educating our elected representatives is a logical next step, given the advocacy we practice every day of our lives.

ETR’s ATOD team (Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs) recently participated in California’s Capitol Information & Education (I&E) Days. 

By ETR | May 21, 2019
 

How do we make choices about our behaviors? How do we judge the potential risks and benefits of a decision to, for example, use tobacco products?

In 2002, psychologist Daniel Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for demonstrating that the answers to these questions are found through an integration of psychology and economics. 

By ETR | March 21, 2019
 

Last year, ETR Program Manager Theresa Boschert wrote a post for us about smoke-free housing as a social justice issue. Smoke-free multi-unit housing is now the rule for federally funded public housing. It’s a good idea for all multi-unit housing.

In the video below, Theresa has a conversation with Administrative Specialist Crystal Mantle about why these policies are important.

By Xinran Cui Dhaliwal, MPH | December 17, 2018
Project Coordinator, ETR

If your holidays are anything like mine, then they are full of family reunions and house hopping. My daughter, one and a half, loves it! New places to check out, great food, hugs and kisses from all the doting adults.

I’m not a helicopter mom, so I don’t really sweat the non-baby proof houses, and there is no limit on sugar. If people want to treat her to some sweets and cookies, that’s fine. She eats well at home.

But I did sweat a little when I came across news about poison control centers handling cases of exposure to e-cigarette devices and liquids.

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | November 27, 2018
Senior Editor, ETR

You probably already know that flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes pose a unique and compelling danger to children and youth. You’ve paid attention to the headlines. You’ve read the articles and reports. You’ve been astonished at the troubling statistics showing how these products are fueling increases in tobacco use among youth.

That was certainly true for me. Then I helped out in a photoshoot of flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products. 

By Vignetta Charles, PhD | August 16, 2018
CEO, ETR

ETR is privileged to work with outstanding partners. In fact, one of the best things about working here is the opportunity to collaborate with people and programs whose mission, like ours, is to make a genuine difference.

Today the California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) is particularly on our minds. 

By Theresa Boschert, JD | June 12, 2018
Project Director, ETR

I’d like to tell you a story about a woman I’ll call Minnie. She’s a single mom with two pre-school aged children. She called my office one day asking for help about her housing situation.

Minnie and her children lived in a second floor apartment in a privately owned low rent housing unit. She was routinely sleeping in her car with her kids because her downstairs neighbor came home from work each day around 6 PM and began smoking. By nine o’clock, her children, one of whom had asthma, were coughing and having problems breathing.

By Xinran Cui Dhaliwal, MPH | March 20, 2018
Project Coordinator, ETR

Health promotion must take a multifaceted approach. It is the only path to success. This is one of my core beliefs.

It’s also something that resonated deeply for me at ETR’s recent All Staff Retreat—my first. When you meet everyone in this organization in one room at one time, you are struck by the fact that ETR staffers work in so many diverse areas of public health research and practice.

By Manveer Sahota | January 18, 2018
Community Outreach and Advocacy Specialist, ETR

Inspiration is powerful. From the time I was a teen, inspiring people have come into my life at just the right moments. They’ve given me encouragement to move forward, to grow and to give back, exactly when I was ready to do so.

Today, because of those experiences, I’m working with the California Clean Air Project (CCAP). 

By Narinder Dhaliwal, MA | January 3, 2018
Program Manager, ETR

What’s in a name? Is it medical marijuana that’s supported by 29 states plus the District of Columbia? Or should we be calling it medical cannabis?

By Jennifer R. Geisler, MS, RN—San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians | December 5, 2017
Community Outreach Coordinator, ETR

I was born and raised on the Rincon reservation in Southern California. They are a neighboring tribe to my tribe, the San Pasqual. There’s a good chance, even if you know about reservation life, mine was not what you would expect.

My parents sheltered the children in our family. I had no idea that my community was struggling with serious issues around diabetes, alcohol and drug use. 

By Lisa Edelman | September 28, 2017
Regional Account Manager, ETR

We do great pamphlets here at ETR! I sincerely believe our health education pamphlets are the best you can find. Once in awhile, a title or series comes along that’s exciting for reasons other than the excellence of its content.

That’s the case for the new Spanish translations of our “What You Need to Know About…” series of pamphlets. 

By April Roeseler, BSN, MSPH | August 31, 2017
Branch Chief, California Tobacco Control Network

Are e-cigarettes really harmful to youth? Yes. Last year’s Surgeon General Report E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults confirms that this is a “major public health concern.” Younger brains are more susceptible to addiction, and e-cigarette use may open the door to other addictions, including conventional cigarettes and illicit drugs. Exposure to nicotine while young may interfere with brain development with resulting negative effects on cognition, memory and attention.

By Narinder Dhaliwal, MA | March 8, 2017
Program Manager, ETR

Did you happen to see the recent Slate article about secondhand smoke? It had an enticing headline—the kind that often makes Slate such a compelling and engaging read:

“We Used Terrible Science to Justify Smoking Bans”

By Marcia Quackenbush, MS, MFT, MCHES | October 25, 2016
Senior Editor, ETR

The tragedy of opioid addiction is not new. When I was a teen, my sisters and I lost two friends to heroin overdoses.

And I still remember the time one of my closest friends told me about the night she tried some drugs with her boyfriend, a heroin addict, and almost died. When she stopped breathing, he didn’t want to call for help because he was afraid he’d be arrested.

No, opioids and heroin are not new. But today’s epidemic is different, and it’s become much worse.

By ETR | August 8, 2016
 

For most of her life, Narinder Dhaliwal has been an enthusiastic advocate for tobacco control. “I watched my grandfather slowly kill himself by smoking one or two packs a day,” she explains.

Some of the effects left a strong impression on Narinder. “His fingers on both hands were stained yellow. His lips were close to black. He was always surrounded by the smell of stale tobacco.”