The Great American Smokeout Communications Plan

THEME: VA at your service Let VA help VAs got it VAs here to help Quit with VA VA can help start your healthy tomorrow VA can lend a hand in your healthy tomorrow

There is a major difference between VA and every other group that promotes the Great American Smokeout and this is the fact that VA is a healthcare provider. With that being said, we are able to provide a lot more assistance to people who are trying to quit smoking. We want to push our smoking hotline, which are 1-888-QUIT-VET as well as VA being able to help with quit plans at our facilities. Quit Today for a Healthy Tomorrow

BACKGROUND:
Most studies suggest that veterans who currently smoke and those who smoked previously were at a higher rate than the rest of the population. Smoking among veterans and the general population decreases as they age but smoking among veterans remains higher. A group of researchers from the Durham VA Medical Center and Duke University did a survey on returning veterans on their smoking habits, as well as symptoms of depression and PTSD. It was found that about one third of the veterans were current smokers, a rate higher than what is seen across the United States in general. Their smoking wasnt really linked to their PTSD symptoms, but instead the veterans who smoked were more likely to be depressed than non-smokers. Fortunately though, one half of the smokers said they were intending to quit in the next 6 months. The Great American Smokeout is an annual event held on the third Thursday of November by the American Cancer Society. The event challenges people to quit smoking for 24 hours in hopes that they will decide to quit forever. The Dept. of Veterans Affairs always participates by encouraging Veterans to take part in the Great American Smoke out.

OBJECTIVE:
o Veterans have a higher rate of smoking so it is our goal to provide assistance in their journey to quitting. We want to give them tools that they will use in order to be successful and disseminate messages that will be effective.

TACTICS:
o o o o o o o o o o Electronic Bulletin Board Website Inside Veterans Health Shopping List (within Inside Veterans Health and Social Media) Recipe Book (within Inside Veterans Health and Social Media) Dry Erase Goal Board (within Inside Veterans Health and Social Media) You Can Quit Too Storybook Veteran Research Take 5 Notebook (within Inside Veterans Health and Social Media) Quit List

MESSAGES:

E-Bulletin Messages:
o In efforts of becoming more environmentally friendly, many VA health clinics use Ebulletins to spread messages instead of posters. The messages below are examples of wording that could be used on E-bulletins in VA health clinics to catch the eye of veterans who smoke. o Want to quit smoking? VAs healthcare professionals can help with that o Quitting is Easy with VA VA healthcare professionals are here to help o Quit Today for a Healthier Tomorrow We are equipped with everything you need to quit o Smoking is Not Cool VA can show you how to be by quitting o Make a Healthy Change Get more information on how you can quit from your VA healthcare provider

Web Messages o Almost all Veterans, particularly those who served September 2001 or later, use the Internet weekly, if not daily, to seek information on VA benefits and services and to obtain news and information. This supports the reasoning for web messages that will catch the eye of smokers about quitting. o Below are listed suggestions for wording in web banners to link veterans to the helpful information about smoking on the website.

Prepare for Tomorrow and Quit Today

Talk to your provider about how VA can help

Quit today for a Healthy Tomorrow

Your VA healthcare provider can help

The Time is Now

Talk to your VA healthcare provider about quitting

Choose for your future

Your VA healthcare provider can help

Prepare for tomorrow and quit today

Talk to your provider about how VA can help

Its your choice, its your future

VA can help you in choosing

Smoking or quitting? Which path will you take?

VA can help you with directions

You have the power to quit

Your VA healthcare provider can help

People quit every day, be a part of the movement

VA is, and can help you get there

A new life begins with quitting

Ask your VA healthcare provider how they can help

Quit smoking? Why not?

Your VA healthcare provider is there to help

SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook: Pre-Event o (PR ex-smoker) did it and you can too! See how mike overcame many obstacles to be smoke free. (link) o Get ready to win in the Great American Smokeout on Nov. 21 by choosing to quit smoking o Choose to quit during the Great American Smokeout on Nov 21. Consult with your VA healthcare provider about what methods are best for you. #Choose2quit o Smokers: Prepare for the Great American Smokeout, Nov 21. Call 1-855QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838) for tips on how to succeed or help with a long-range quit plan o Create a healthier future for you and your family by choosing to quit smoking during the Great American Smokeout on Nov 21. Day of the Smokeout o Smokers: Win in the Great American Smokeout on Nov .21- Lookout for our tips to help you succeed. #Wintip o #Wintip1 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov. 21- Discard all your cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays before you start. o #Wintip2 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov. 21- Fight cravings by using deep breathing, drinking water, or going for short walks. o #Wintip3 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov. 21- Stay on Track, reward yourself for the day and following milestones. Dinner? Movie? o #Wintip4 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov 21- Create a quit list of all the reasons you want to quit and then write each reason on a note card or sticky note and place in areas where you usually keep cigarettes as a reminder of why you are quitting.

o #Wingtip5 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov 21- Shop for foods that will help with nicotine cravings, such as oats, brown rice, almonds, raisins, corn, squash, figs, spinach, and whole grain breads and pastas. o #Wingtip6 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov 21- Create a Take 5 notebook since urges to smoke pass in 3-5 minutes. You can record when you get nicotine cravings and plan activities for those 3-5 minutes. Take a walk? Breathing exercises? o #Wintip7 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov.21- Manage stress with exercise to make quitting easier. o #Wintip8 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov. 21- Embrace the challenge, dont let your fear of failure keep you from trying. o (PR ex-smoker) did it and you can too! See how mike overcame many obstacles to be smoke free. (link) o Why should you quit? You should do it for a healthier tomorrow for you and your loved ones of course. Choose a quit date during the Great American Smokeout on November 21. o Smokers: Prepare for the Great American Smokeout, Nov 21. Call 1-855QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838) for tips on how to succeed or help with a long-range quit plan. o Smoking? Plan to succeed in the Great American Smokeout, Nov.21. Text VET to 47848 from your phone for tips and encouragement to #stopsmoking o Smokers: Miss the smell of roasted turkey on Thanksgiving? #stopsmoking during the Great American Smokeout, Nov. 20, to fully appreciate the taste and smells of the holiday.

Post-Smokeout o VA supports everyone that is on their journey to quitting smoking and we are here to help anyway that we can. Call 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-7848838) for support or visit your VA Healthcare clinic. o We hope you chose to quit smoking during the Great American Smokeout. For tips on how to continue your success call 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838) o Need help with a long-range quit plan? Call 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-7848838) to get assistance from our experienced counselors. o The Great American Smokeout is over but you can still stay quit. Utilize your resources by calling 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838) or by consulting with your VA healthcare provider. o How long have you been smoke-free? Show off your success with a Smoke free Vet badge to use as your profile photo. Download your smoke free badge here (link)

Twitter: Pre-Smokeout

o (PR ex-smoker) did it and you can too! See how mike overcame many obstacles to be smoke free. (link) o Get ready to win in the Great American Smokeout on Nov. 21 by choosing to quit smoking. o Choose to quit during the Great American Smokeout. VA can help with that. #choose2quit o Call 1-855-QUIT-VET for tips on how to succeed during the Great American Smokeout. #QuitVet

Smokeout Day o Smokers: Stay tuned for 5 tips to win in the Great American Smokeout. #Wintip o #Wintip1 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov. 21- Discard all your cigarettes, lighters and ashtrays before you start. o #Wintip2 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov. 21- Fight cravings by using deep breathing, drinking water, or going for short walks. o #Wintip3 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov. 21- Stay on Track, reward yourself for the day and following milestones. Dinner? Movie? o #Wintip4 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov.21- Manage stress with exercise to make quitting easier. o #Wintip5 in the Great American Smokeout, Nov 21- Embrace the challenge, dont let your fear of failure keep you from trying.

o Quit for a healthier tomorrow during The Great American Smokeout held on Nov 21, 2013 o Quit for a happier tomorrow during The Great American Smokeout held on Nov 21, 2013 o Choose a quit date during The Great American Smokeout on November 21, 2013 o Quit today for tomorrow. Join in The Great American Smokeout on Nov 21, 2013 by quitting for good. o Choose a quit date during The Great American Smokeout on Nov 21, 2013 and quit today for tomorrow. o (PR ex-smoker) did it and you can too! See how mike overcame many obstacles to be smoke free. (link)

Post-Smokeout o We know quitting is difficult but VA can help. Call 1-855- QUIT-VET for help during your quitting journey o The Great American Smokeout is over but you can still stay quit. Utilize VA resources to remain smoke-free o Everyday smoke free counts. If you need help continuing your journey VA can be of assistance. #QuitVET o

TACTICS DESCRIBED: These tactics will be used in the form of social media. o Storybook o This storybook can be used on the tobacco & health homepage as well as in GovDelivery. o A small booklet with other peoples struggles to quit and how they overcame them. This can be like testimonials. It can include maybe 4-6 stories of how people overcame smoking and how life is better now. o When people see other people quitting and what they had to overcome to quit it is encouraging for them o Dry erase goal board o This could be hung anywhere in someones home or office. People can write their daily and weekly goals and erase them as they are met. This can be something that people use every day so its a reminder to keep pushing toward their end goal and thats to quit smoking. o For example. A daily goal could be to only smoke 3 cigarettes today compared to the daily 5. A weekly goal could be to only buy 3 packs for the week instead of 5 or to not buy a carton but to buy cigarettes on a pack to pack basis. o Grocery Shopping List o A shopping list that will have foods that curb nicotine cravings. Vets can take this list with them to the grocery store to buy foods they can incorporate into their diet more. Foods high in alkaline levels keep nicotine circulating in the body which decreases the need to ingest anymore. This result was corroborated by another recent study conducted in Japan, where researchers found that smokers who received a daily supplement of an oats herb extract

(brand name Neuravena) cut the number of cigarettes they smoked in one day by nearly half.

o Recipe Guide o This guide could include some recipes full of foods that curb nicotine cravings for
vets to make at home

o Take 5 Notebook o A small notebook people can keep handy that will have instructions for what to
do when they have an urge on the front of it. It will also be a reminder to them that the urges will only last 3-5 minutes. They can use the notebook to write down information about when their cravings occur and what methods work best to curb them. o The urge for a cigarette may pass in 3-5 minutes so giving them something to do in that time while the urge passes can be effective. Find a replacement for the oral fixation that you have acquired through smoking. If you feel the urge to smoke, try chewing gum or holding in a straw in your mouth. Munch on pretzels or hard candy to keep your mouth busy.
Keep a notebook handy to jot down when your cravings happen. Keeping a record of what is going on when you experience cravings will help you to understand why you have them. For example, if you are having cravings after each meal, you will know that eating may be a trigger for your craving.

Plan activities for the times when you have the most cravings. If you have more cravings after meals, plan to take a walk after each meal. Do the same for any other situation, try to keep yourself busy, so you don't focus so much on smoking.

o Quit List o This is a list of the reasons that the smoker has for quitting. After the list is compiled the smoker then writes each individual reason on notecards or stickies and places them in areas they would normally keep cigarettes. This is used to remind the smoker of why they are quitting every time they reach for a cigarette.

o This idea will be incorporated into the Inside Veterans health piece and social media.

Social Media

The pre-Smokeout posts can be sent out the week before the Smokeout up until the 20th The posts for the day of will be posted on Nov 21. I have numerous posts written so it would be a matter of picking and choosing which ones you like most. The post-Smokeout messages are obviously for after the Smokeout.

Stories

I would like to get the interview and story written from the ex smoker in PR by Oct. 20 which gives us plenty of time. Interview a QUIT VET counselor to gain valuable insight from a veterans point-of-view.

GovDelivery General information about the Smokeout Quit Vet Mirror a good Facebook Message

Inside Veterans Health Deadline is Nov 12. Will be posted on Nov. 14 The PR ex smoker story Video clip link Push the QUIT LINE more

Badges Smokefree Vet (with the amount of days) A link in social media to where they can get the badges These can be used as their profile pic on facebook

Story for the storybook

Youll want to Be Like (Veteran) Mike For Mike McMichael, eight rather than three was the magic number. A smoker for more than 25 years, he finally quit on the eighth try, while participating in a study of a new smoking cessation treatment being tested at the Durham Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. I started smoking when I was 12 because it was the cool thing to do, and continued to smoke through and after deployment where I smoked four packs a day, said Mike. Before beginning the study, I was tired of smoking, tired of feeling bad, and tired of smelling like an ash tray. Mike had tried to quit for years, but this time he found that his reasons for quitting and having strong support influenced his success. Motivated to quit by the concern of his wife and kids, he participated in a VA-sponsored smoking cessation clinic three times without lasting success. When I quit for others, I was only able to quit for a short time, said Mike. This last time was different because I was finally quitting for me and found a program that held me accountable. VA smoking cessation care generally involves group and individual counseling that may be combined with nicotine replacement therapy or other medication prescribed by a VA health care provider. Dealing with Quitting Smoking and PTSD

The treatment that made the difference for Mike, however, integrates smoking cessation with treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. It also used carbon monoxide and saliva testing to detect evidence of smoking; thereby, providing a number you could actually see that helped keep me accountable, said McMichael. As Mike demonstrates, no matter how long you have been smoking or trying to quit, you can be smoke-free. This November 15, join the thousands of Americans who quit smoking each year during the Great American Smokeout. Whether you decide that you are ready to quit smoking for a day or for longer, VA encourages you to talk to your provider about the many resources available to help you quit.