Latest / Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast / Heart Health Month & Public Health on Capitol Hill

Transcript

Heart Health Month & Public Health on Capitol Hill · Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast

0:03
Welcome to Healthier Together, Larimer County's
0:05
public health podcast, where we come together
0:07
for healthier lives, connected communities, and
0:09
real conversations. From your local public health
0:12
team, I'm your host, Tom. And I'm Joanna. This
0:14
is your Weekly Minnesota, where we'll provide
0:16
a brief update on local public health news. Tom,
0:20
what's up in public health this week? February
0:22
is Heart Health Month, and according to the CDC,
0:25
heart disease is the leading cause of death in
0:27
the United States, killing more people each year
0:29
than cancer and accidents combined. And with
0:32
February being Heart Health Month, we wanted
0:33
to focus our attention on one factor responsible
0:36
for one in every four cases of this disease,
0:38
and that is using tobacco and nicotine. With
0:41
that, today we have with us Destiny Hall, our
0:44
senior health... educator for tobacco and youth,
0:46
and Nina Wickens -Bomek, one of our population
0:48
epidemiologists. They're here to talk to us about
0:51
nicotine prevention and cessation. Destiny. How
0:54
exactly does nicotine use impact our heart health?
0:57
Yeah, good question. And thank you for having
1:00
us here. So the bottom line is that although
1:03
the impacts of nicotine products such as e -cigarettes
1:07
or oral nicotine pouches are still being studied,
1:10
they still contain highly dangerous toxins, are
1:13
highly addictive to the mind and body. In addition,
1:17
as we talk more about heart health specifically
1:20
today, tobacco smoking is the most... most important
1:24
modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity
1:28
and mortality, according to the American Heart
1:31
Association. And yeah, on average, smokers unfortunately
1:35
die more than 10 years earlier than a non -smoker.
1:38
If someone does stop using nicotine, does their
1:41
heart health improve or is the damage already
1:43
kind of done? I definitely want to be clear that
1:47
myself and my team are not medical practitioners.
1:50
And so my recommendation would always be to speak
1:52
with your primary physician about your specific
1:56
heart health and also your medical plan. And
2:00
there are so many different factors that influence
2:03
an individual's heart health. So just want to
2:06
start with those pieces. However, what we do
2:09
know is that after a smoker quits, in the first
2:14
20 minutes, their blood pressure and heart rate
2:17
drops. After 12 hours, the carbon monoxide in
2:21
the blood returns to normal. And then between
2:23
two weeks to three months, your breathing improves
2:26
and blood circulation increases. And after one
2:30
year, your risk of heart disease is cut in half.
2:33
What strategies are believed to be the most effective
2:35
in preventing nicotine use? Starting education
2:38
young in a both non -judgmental and non -punitive
2:43
environment. From the youth that we have worked
2:45
with throughout the county, it is rare that a
2:48
young person has not ever heard or seen a vape
2:51
before. Youth are finding out and trying nicotine
2:53
products, and studies show that 7 % of young
2:56
people in Larimer County have reported vaping
2:59
before the age of 13. This is according to the
3:02
Healthy Kids Colorado survey. So a project that
3:05
our team is working on now is our Breathe Easy
3:09
education campaign. This is a nicotine and tobacco
3:12
prevention education curriculum for students
3:14
from elementary through young adulthood. And
3:18
the curriculum is aligned with Colorado comprehensive
3:20
health standards and includes slide decks, activities,
3:24
worksheets and lesson plans for teachers, counselors,
3:27
community champions and trusted adults looking
3:30
to partake in more education. And so our hope
3:34
is that the more that we are pushing this education
3:36
into school curriculums and homes earlier, the
3:40
better. So that eventually young people will
3:43
have the tools and the knowledge and the resources
3:45
that they need to make the healthiest choices
3:47
for themselves growing into adulthood. Out of
3:50
curiosity, what kind of things are covered in
3:52
the curriculum? pieces in the curriculum all
3:54
the way from what is a vape, right? So what are
3:57
the harmful toxins and chemicals inside a vape
4:01
or something like a Zin, right? All the way to
4:05
the marketing that comes from big tobacco industry,
4:08
right? So really wanting youth to understand
4:11
that this isn't only, this didn't come from thin
4:14
air, right? These are industries that are working
4:17
hard. to sell their products to youth. So the
4:21
more that they know, the more they're like, oh,
4:24
I don't want to be manipulated by anyone, which
4:27
makes total sense. And then we're seeing that
4:30
hopefully they're less likely to buy because
4:32
they're like, yeah, this doesn't feel good. What
4:34
tools and resources are available for people,
4:36
though, who currently use nicotine that want
4:38
to stop? Yeah, so luckily there's tons of resources
4:41
specifically in the state of Colorado that are
4:44
available to folks who currently smoke. So resources
4:48
such as the Colorado Quitline that also has incentives
4:52
for folks who are on Medicaid. So if you engage
4:57
in the Quitline. for a certain amount of calls,
5:01
then there's incentives like $10, $15, $25. So
5:07
that's great. There's Tobacco Free Colorado as
5:10
a website. The X program, the Truth Initiative,
5:14
My Life, My Quit, which is specifically for teens
5:17
and youth who are hoping to quit. Traditional
5:19
methods like nicotine replacement therapy and
5:22
counseling have also proven to be very effective.
5:25
And again, we also recommend speaking to your
5:27
doctor or even your dentist, if that's accessible,
5:30
about a plan on moving forward with quitting.
5:33
So I am curious, though, what happens when somebody
5:36
calls the Colorado Quit Line? Yeah, so there
5:38
on the other side of the Colorado Quit Line are
5:40
trained support professionals that are there
5:44
to coach you through your quit experience. If
5:48
someone were to call, there's a coach on the
5:51
other line that's there to really talk to you
5:53
about what it means for you to quit. And we'll
5:56
probably talk more about strategies. But yeah,
5:58
they'll talk you through what the process looks
6:00
like for you specifically to quit. Is there anything
6:04
you think people should know before quitting?
6:06
Do you have any advice for them? Yeah, some strategies
6:09
that we also recommend to folks based on our
6:12
knowledge is first setting up a really solid
6:17
quit start date right so that might be tomorrow
6:20
it might be next week it might be two weeks from
6:23
now we're really setting that date for when you
6:26
plan to quit so you can prepare yourself for
6:28
that also knowing your triggers including high
6:31
amounts of stressful times right like if you
6:34
know maybe a trigger for you is you have a work
6:37
report that's due and Smoking helps you to get
6:41
through that, knowing what those stressful times
6:43
are, or maybe it's certain social encounters
6:46
and environments. I was recently watching the
6:49
Broncos game in a social environment the other
6:52
week, and there were so many folks that were
6:54
using Zins. And I actually thought to myself,
6:57
this would be such a hard environment for me
6:59
to be in personally if I was trying to quit because
7:01
everyone around me is using Zins and offering
7:04
them. So knowing what those social environments
7:07
are, I think, is helpful to either communicate
7:10
with your support system about them or avoid
7:13
them completely. So knowing those triggers, we
7:16
would also say finding a really good support
7:20
system again. So really knowing like who your
7:23
champions are, whether that's your family, whether
7:25
it's friends, coworkers, and having that support
7:29
system set up. And then also finding healthy
7:32
alternatives. So if... the urges are coming up
7:36
or withdrawal symptoms are setting in, what are
7:39
you going to choose to do instead? Maybe it's
7:41
chewing sugar -free gum. Maybe it's exercising
7:44
or going for a walk. Maybe it's listening to
7:47
music or spending time with pets, but really
7:49
understanding what you're going to do for yourself
7:51
instead of choosing the tobacco or nicotine product.
7:54
Thank you, Destiny. I did want to switch over
7:56
to Nina to find out a little bit more about some
7:59
of the demographic stuff that's going on. So
8:01
Nina, what does nicotine use look like in Larimer
8:04
County? So currently about 6 % of Larimer County
8:07
adults smoke cigarettes. And look back in time.
8:11
If you were 20 years ago, that rate would have
8:12
been triple what it is now. So that's a great
8:14
success there. About 4 % of our high schoolers
8:17
report currently using. Also a sharp decline.
8:21
But as we've all heard, or many of us have heard,
8:24
the toll of nicotine vaping has hit youth particularly
8:27
hard. How has nicotine use changed in recent
8:30
years? I know that, I mean... Destiny, you've
8:33
talked about vapes and how that's become more
8:35
prevalent, and so did you, Nina. Is that kind
8:38
of like a national trend, or are there other
8:41
products that are just becoming, I guess, more
8:43
marketable or more popular? Yes. So in 2015,
8:48
almost a third of Larimer County high school
8:51
youth reported current vape use. Through a lot
8:54
of the different prevention efforts that went
8:55
on in the time since then, we've seen that rate
8:58
drop to less than 1 in 10. in our last survey
9:01
of them in 2023. So a huge success there, but
9:05
still room for growth because that rate is still
9:06
a little bit higher than the national rate. I
9:09
did want to ask, with the passage of things like
9:11
smoke -free laws and the arrival of things like
9:14
disposable vapes, how has the impact of nicotine
9:17
and tobacco use changed over time? Yeah, that's
9:20
a great question, Tom, because even though we've
9:23
seen nicotine... use of vapes going down among
9:25
youth during this time period. There's also been
9:28
a big growth of new nicotine products, such as
9:30
larger vapes that can hold large quantities of
9:33
nicotine. For instance, there's a popular product
9:36
called Elf Bar, and that delivers as much nicotine
9:39
as almost 600 cigarettes. So that's like 30 packs
9:43
of cigarettes that you just hold in the palm
9:45
of your hand. These products are available in
9:49
candy or fruit flavors that are especially appealing
9:51
to youth. It has actually changed a lot over
9:54
time through policy, and Colorado actually had
9:57
passed its Clean Indoor Air Act in 2006, so quite
10:02
a ways back. We take it for granted now, but
10:05
it prohibits smoking in indoor areas throughout
10:07
the state. And in 2019, it was also amended to
10:10
help prohibit nicotine vaping in indoor areas,
10:14
since nicotine vapors can also be harmful to
10:17
health when they're breathed in secondhand. And
10:19
the policy protects both workers and the general
10:22
public from the health impacts of secondhand
10:23
smoke and secondhand vapor. And also just going
10:26
beyond that protection from those vapors and
10:28
secondhand smoke, having less people smoking
10:32
in public places means less peer pressure overall.
10:35
It really makes it easier for people to quit
10:37
for good when they're not going to places with
10:40
everyone vaping or smoking around them. Although
10:42
Destiny did mention the oral nicotine pouches,
10:45
so I wanted to mention those because those aren't.
10:47
really covered by this type of policy. They can
10:50
be easily and discreetly tucked under your lip.
10:53
They're legal for those 21 plus. And people can
10:56
go about their days and take in large doses of
10:59
nicotine because there's no reason to take it
11:01
out. You could go do your workout. You could
11:04
be at your computer. You could be in your class
11:06
or hanging out with your friends or socializing
11:09
in any other way. There's exciting news that
11:12
the Healthy Kids Colorado survey is actually
11:13
adding an item about nicotine pouch use. So we'll
11:17
soon learn more about what's actually going on
11:19
with it in Larimer County, whether there's certain
11:21
demographics of youth that are especially impacted
11:23
by it so that we can tailor prevention programs
11:25
for them. So I am curious, you know, deviating
11:29
slightly from just nicotine, what are the trends
11:31
for heart disease, though, in Larimer County?
11:33
And how does that show up in different groups?
11:36
Yeah, so actually there have been really promising
11:38
trends in heart disease in Larimer County. As
11:42
we know, nationally smoking is responsible for
11:44
one in four deaths due to cardiovascular disease.
11:46
And we're actually seeing a decline in Larimer
11:48
County of deaths due to coronary heart disease.
11:51
It parallels the decline we've seen in smoking.
11:54
So it's really hard at a local level to measure
11:57
just exactly how much this is impacting our local
12:00
cardiovascular health. When you look at those
12:03
two downward trends together, and especially
12:06
when you take into account that our population
12:09
in Larimer County is aging, it's a population
12:11
that's even more vulnerable to coronary heart
12:14
disease, and still we see it declining. We can
12:17
attribute a lot of that to the decline in smoking,
12:20
especially among those older adults who have
12:22
been able to quit. But, you know, there are some
12:24
patterns in this that are troubling. We see disparities
12:27
in who's smoking in Larimer County. So those
12:30
with lower incomes are more likely to smoke than
12:33
those with higher incomes. And we already know
12:36
that low -income folks are more vulnerable to
12:39
chronic disease and all the stressors that compound
12:41
chronic disease. So it's really important that
12:44
we help connect these folks with better quit
12:47
resources, like the Colorado Quit Line, which
12:50
Destiny mentioned. Well, Destiny, Nina, thank
12:52
you so much for joining us. We really do appreciate
12:54
it. Next, we're joined by Kimberly Baker, Larimer
12:57
County's Health and All Policies Coordinator,
12:59
here to talk about the 2026 legislative session.
13:02
Kimberly, thank you so much for joining us. Thank
13:05
you for inviting me. First, can you explain your
13:08
role at the health department? Sure. So I follow
13:11
state, local, and a little bit of federal policy
13:13
to understand their impact on public health.
13:15
So day -to -day, that looks like... A variety
13:18
of things, listening to policy debate, participating
13:20
in policy committees with other public health
13:22
professionals, writing letters or testimony to
13:25
be shared with elected officials and things like
13:27
that. That sounds like a big job. How do you
13:31
keep track of new legislation? So our department
13:35
has public health policy priorities, things like
13:37
public health funding and infrastructure, air
13:39
quality, immunization access and health equity
13:41
and environmental justice. And so I check the
13:43
General Assembly's website daily to see if new
13:46
bills have been introduced within those policy
13:48
priority areas. I also have a subscription to
13:50
a policy tracking website that helps me keep
13:52
track of when policies come up in committee and
13:55
things like that. And then also our colleagues
13:57
will reach out to me and ask me questions about
13:59
policy that they see. So the Colorado State Congress
14:02
has convened for a new session, which started
14:04
January 14th. How many new bills were introduced
14:08
this session? So far, we have 149 bills. There's
14:12
usually more than 500, so there's quite a few
14:14
more that will come. What bills are you watching
14:16
so far this legislative session? So I'm watching
14:19
a bill to expand the state's cottage food laws,
14:21
a bill to promote immunization access, and several
14:24
bills related to mental health care and several
14:26
related to AI and data centers. And the list
14:29
will grow as more bills are introduced. The first
14:31
one you mentioned was about cottage food laws.
14:33
Could you briefly explain what cottage food laws
14:36
are and how the bill might change those? Sure.
14:40
So the current Colorado Cottage Food Act was
14:42
passed in 2012 to allow limited types of non
14:46
-potentially hazardous foods to be sold directly
14:48
to consumers without licensing or inspections.
14:51
So those non -potentially hazardous foods are
14:53
those that don't require refrigeration for safety.
14:57
Under the current law, that includes things like
14:59
cookies, bread, roasted coffee beans, things
15:01
that don't have to be refrigerated that are baked,
15:03
do not include dairy, etc. So there's a proposed
15:07
bill to expand that law to allow for the sale
15:09
of homemade foods that require refrigeration
15:11
and a few other changes. And so we're concerned
15:17
about food safety risks in this concept. So things
15:21
like pathogen growth, cross -contamination, exposure
15:24
to allergens. You also mentioned there are a
15:27
handful of bills related to mental health care.
15:29
How could those bills potentially impact? residents
15:33
in Larimer County? Sure. So there's a mental
15:36
health access bill that's been released in the
15:38
Senate that would create an adult mental health
15:40
services program, which would reimburse providers
15:42
for up to six mental health sessions with an
15:44
adult. It's similar to a program that already
15:47
exists for youth called I Matter. On the most
15:49
recent Colorado health access survey, 15 .6 %
15:52
of Larimer County residents reported needing
15:55
mental health care that they could not access,
15:57
mostly due to cost. So hopefully this would help
16:00
facilitate access to mental health services for
16:02
adults in Larimer County and throughout the state.
16:04
You also mentioned a handful of bills that are
16:08
related to data centers. AI has probably entered
16:12
all of our lives in different ways recently.
16:15
How could those bills potentially impact us here
16:18
in Larimer County? Sure. So heading into this
16:20
legislative session, we knew one of the big topics
16:22
would be technology, including AI and data centers.
16:26
There's two anticipated bills about data centers
16:28
that should be introduced this session, one focusing
16:31
on environmental impacts and the other focusing
16:33
on data center development and incentives. At
16:37
this time, only one of those bills has been introduced.
16:39
And our environmental health planner is paying
16:41
close attention to the developments because recently
16:43
the Larimer County commissioners have put a temporary
16:46
moratorium on new data center applications within
16:49
the unincorporated parts of Larimer County. And
16:51
they're doing this to develop land use standards
16:54
for data centers within the county. So for all
16:57
of these bills that you've mentioned in this
16:59
legislative session, how do you go about advocating
17:02
for public health with legislators? Sure. So
17:05
our primary goal is to educate our lawmakers
17:07
about the impact policy has on our population
17:09
health. And we do this by directly meeting with
17:12
them, communicating via email or letters, and
17:14
by giving testimony during committee meetings.
17:16
I'm also a voting member of the Colorado Association
17:19
of Local Public Health Officials Policy Committee.
17:22
And so through that work, we contribute research
17:24
that gets shared with legislators. And we've
17:27
provided testimony on bills on a number of topics,
17:29
like keeping youth nicotine and tobacco free,
17:32
food safety, and restaurant inspections, to name
17:34
a few. Are there community partners that you
17:37
work with to impact policy? Yes. Other departments
17:40
in Larimer County, the City of Fort Collins,
17:42
the City of Loveland, the Health District of
17:44
Northern Larimer County, United Way, just to
17:47
name a few. Through our community health improvement
17:49
plan work, we convene a group that meets during
17:51
the legislative session to talk about policies
17:53
we're following and share information and learn
17:55
from one another. For those listening who may
17:57
want to get involved and advocate for public
17:59
health at the state level, what would you recommend
18:02
they do? Reach out to your elected officials
18:04
and let them know you support public health.
18:06
You can testify on bills when they're heard in
18:08
committee, and you can do that in person, online,
18:10
or in writing. And also, your elected officials
18:12
have town hall meetings that you can attend in
18:14
person, and those are within the community they
18:16
represent. So they're often at libraries or other
18:19
public buildings. Awesome. Thanks so much for
18:21
joining us. Thank you. Thanks for listening,
18:23
Larimer County. Until next week, stay well, stay
18:27
connected, and remember, we really are healthier
18:29
together.