March 2, 2024 • 29 mins
Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring Dr. Kristy Marynak, Health Science Advisor in the CDC Office of Smoking & Health, and Angie P, a former smoker featured in the CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers campaign. Dr. Marynak and Angie P. discuss the dangers of smoking, issues specifically related to menthol cigarettes, and tips for quitting. Pamela Zaballa, CEO of No More, also joins the show. Pamela Zaballa joins the show to discuss her organization’s work helping those dealing with domestic violence and sexual assault.
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(00:00):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a publicaffairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting
you. This week, here's RyanGorman. Thanks so much for joining us
here on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm RyanGorman, and we have a few very
important conversations lined up for you.In just a bit, we'll check in
with an organization working to help thosedealing with domestic violence and sexual assault.
(00:23):
Pamela Zabala, CEO of No More, will discuss those issues and share some
really vital information, so make sureto stick around for that. But first
kick things off. Joining me now, I have doctor Christy Marrinac, health
Science Advisor in the CDC Office onSmoking and Health, and angp who is
featured in the CDC's Tips from FormerSmokers campaign. I want to thank you
(00:46):
both so much for taking a fewminutes to come on the show. And
doctor Marinac, let me start withyou. Can you give us a sense
as to how much progress we've madein this country in recent decades in reducing
the amount of people who are smallcigarettes. Yeah, in nineteen sixty five,
when we first started to record thenumber of people who smoked, about
(01:07):
nearly one in two American adults smoked. We have been able to reduce that
to about one in nine, Sothat's still twenty eight million American adults who
smoke cigarettes and even more who useother combusted tobacco products that are people like
cigars and hookah. So we havea lot of work to do. And
(01:29):
as we've seen declined in the numberof all people who smoke, we've actually
seen an increase of the proportion ofpeople who smoke mental cigarettes. And mental
cigarettes disproportionately harm certain groups, includingAfrican American people, LGBTQI plus individuals and
(01:49):
women. So the Tips from FormerSmokers campaign reaches people who smoke with real
stories from people who smoked, andand there's the powerful message that you can
quit too. So you mentioned howmental cigarettes in particular disproportionately impact certain groups.
Can you elaborate on that. ForMentol is an ingredient that the tobacco
(02:13):
industry adds to cigarettes that has bothnumbing and cooling properties and a minty taste
and aroma, and it allows forcigarette smoke to be inhaled more easily and
more deeply into the lungs. Ithelps it be easier to start smoking and
harder to quit smoking, and thetobacco industry has specifically marketed mental cigarettes to
(02:37):
specific groups. For example, AfricanAmerican people are often features and featured in
ads for mental cigarettes, and abouteighty five percent of Black people who smoke
use mental cigarettes. So including peoplewho are included in our campaign who smoked
mental cigarettes, and we want toreach everybody who smokes, including people who
(03:00):
smoke mental cigarettes, to let themknow that quitting is difficult, but it
is possible and help is available.What are some of the most common medical
conditions that are associated with smoking?Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body.
It causes thirteen different types of cancers, and is a leading preventable cause
(03:22):
of death and disease in this country. But quitting smoking is beneficial at any
age. You begin to experience thebenefits of quitting smoking almost immediately, and
even at older ages you can improveyourself by quitting smoking. It is never
too late. The earlier you quit, the better, But any age is
(03:45):
a good age to quit smoking.The mental cigarettes that you were mentioning a
moment ago, have they had anyimpact on people's ability to quit smoking.
Mentol does make it more difficult toquit smoking, but it's still possible,
and people like Angie who smoked mentalcigarettes have been able to quit successfully,
(04:08):
often using evidence based methods that weknow can double or triple your chances of
quitting successfully, including counseling and SDAapproved medications for quitting smoking. I'm Ryan
Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities, joinedby doctor Christy marinech health Science Advisor in
the CDC Office on Smoking and Health, and Angip, who's featured in the
(04:30):
CDC's Tips from Former Smokers campaign.Angie, let me bring you in now,
when did you first start smoking?And then fast forward for us to
when you decided it was time toquit. I've spoken At the age of
thirteen, both my parents smoked,and my mother threw her cigarettes in the
garbage because she was done, andthen I came behind her and picked them
(04:54):
up and started smoking. Wow.I quit smoking and Thanksgiving weekend two thousand,
so I smoked from the age ofthirteen up until two thousand and two
thousand. I was at a restaurantand a guy was talking about a program
that he was quitting smoking, andI listened to him, and the restaurant
was crowded, so I knew thatit was for my ears only because everything
(05:15):
he was saying made sense to me. And I called and got a doctor
and a counselor and they did thebiocycle social and I haven't smoked since.
What was it that led you tofirst start smoking? Was it just that
your mom had smoked, so youpicked up the habit too. Was there
something else that led you to continueto smoke once you started? For sure?
(05:41):
I mean as far as I wasconcerned, all the cool people smoked,
So yeah, I wanted to becool and I wanted to be in
with the cool people, and yeah, and so that's why I continued.
It's like, once I was addicted, there was no stopping. And you
smoked menthol cigarettes, right, yes, sir? So what was it about
Menthol cigarettes that drew you to thattype of cigarette specifically? Well, it
(06:04):
was the one that's what my parentssmoked, and so yeah, I knew,
like when I grabbed her cigarette thatday that you know, the nicotine
was what the mentall was what Igot addicted to. And it was because
it was not that hard going in, you know what I mean, it
was it was minty, it wasyou know, Yeah, when you decided
(06:27):
to finally quit smoking, How difficultof a process was that for you?
It was very difficult. The withdrawalfrom nicotine are horrendous. You know.
I had like cold hills, Isweat, you know, I couldn't get
the smell of cigarettes off of me. It was it was hard. And
(06:49):
after all those years of smoking andbeing around smoking because your mother smoked too,
How concerned were you about your healthat that point. I wasn't as
concerned about my health as I wasabout my singing voice, because I've been
singing since I was three, andso I sang in rhythm and blues bands
and gospel choirs and even had asin in Vegas, and that's more.
(07:13):
I was more concerned about that thananything, like I wanted to be able
to continue to sing, but bythe time I stopped, you know,
and it caused problems for me.I'm Ryan Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities,
joined by doctor Christy Marinach, healthscience advisor in the CDC Office on Smoking
and Health, and angp who's featuredin the CDC's Tips from Former Smokers campaigns.
(07:36):
So when you finally quit, whatwas it that led you to that
point where you said, you knowwhat, I'm done. Now. I'm
sure you have had your struggles alongthe way. This is not an easy
habit to kick. We all knowthat. But what was it that got
you over that hump to where youcould quit smoking? It was probably about
(07:58):
maybe three months six months that Ireally really believed that it was possible for
me to stop, and that whenI went past or saw signs or whatever,
I didn't automatically I wasn't attracted tothem the way that I was prior
to getting help. Were there certainparts of your day, certain aspects of
your life where it was a littlemore difficult to not reach for that cigarette
(08:22):
as you were going through the processof finally quitting, well, I had
to replace a lot of things likeI would get up, smoke, make
coffee and smoke a cigarette. Andso what I started doing was not making
the coffee and walking my dog.I started to do some work on me
spiritually, and I started sending spiritualretreats and real you know, realize like
(08:45):
in my work as far as myspiritual worker was concerned, that this was
not something that I had to doand if I saw I can possibly help
so many other people telling them howI did it. Did you feel some
significant help benefits once you had stoppedsmoking, once you reached that, like
you said, three to six monthrange, I'll tell you what what happened
(09:09):
was. I began to I beganto taste food again. I didn't realize
how much food I was not tastingwhile I was smoking. I like burned
all that off, and when Ibegan to taste food again, it was
it was pretty cool, Like,Okay, this what it tastes like for
real. I'm Ryan Gorman, joinedby doctor Christy Marinack, health Science Advisor
(09:31):
the CDC Office on Smoking and Health, and a GP who's featured in the
CDC's Tips from Former Smokers campaign,Doctor Marynach. Let me go back to
you for a moment. Can youtell us a little bit more about some
of these different strategies that help peoplequit smoking. Sure, so we at
(09:52):
the historm Former Smoker's campaign. Itpromotes the use of the free quit line
in every state one eight hundred QuitNow, and if you call that line,
you'll be connected to a trained counselorwho will talk to you without judgment
and assess your needs and help youcome up with a plan. As well
(10:13):
as a quit date. You canalso talk to your doctor about whether medications
that are approved by the FDA forquitting smoking that might be right for you.
We know that when people combine boththe counseling that you can get from
the one eight hundred Quit Now aline with FDA approved sensation medications, they
can double or triple their chances ofquitting successfully. You know. Auntie also
(10:39):
talked about how when you take awaysmoking from your life, you can replace
it with positive things. It's notjust about losing something that gave structure to
your life. You can add inthings that add structure to your life.
So Antie was going for walks withher dog in the morning and replace replace
(11:01):
that healthy behavior so that she didn'tneed that morning cigarette anymore. But we
really do encourage you, if youwould like free, trained, non judgmental
help, to call one eight hundredquid now. One thing we've seen in
recent years, as the number ofpeople in this country smoking cigarettes has decreased,
(11:22):
the number who are now vaping hasincreased substantially. Can you talk a
little bit about that. Yes,these cigarettes are now the most commonly used
tobacco product among middle and high schoolstudents, as well as young adults ages
eighteen to twenty five, and manyof the adults who now use e cigarettes
(11:43):
never smoked cigarettes. We know thatthere's no such thing as a stafe tobacco
product, and etherrets contain nicotine aswell as flavors that can make them particularly
appealing to young people. The aerosolthat you inhale and an e cgret not
only contains nicotine, but also cancontain other things that can be harmful,
(12:05):
including heavy metals and chemicals that cancause cancer. So there's no safe tobacco
product, and we encourage people tonever start using tobacco products and if you
use them, to quit. Angie, let me go back to you for
one final question based on your experiencehaving quit smoking, any tips for those
(12:26):
who are out there who are thinkingabout quitting or want to quit but haven't
been able to up to this point. Sure, you know, I felt
very judged, especially after my parentsquit and then I continued smoking, so
I was very I was afraid ofbeing judged and that's the one thing that
kept me from doing anything. Andwhen I went and got help, they
(12:50):
just showed me ways that I couldI could help myself, Like, we're
not going to do it all youknow, you have to do some things
as well, and so I justalready doing different stuff. When I smoked
cigarettes, my skin was so somuch darker than it is now. It
just affected everything. Doctor Christy Merrinac, health Science advisor in the CDC Office
(13:11):
on Smoking and Health, and angpwho's featured in the CDC's Tips from Former
Smokers campaign. Doctor Merrinac, Angie, thank you both so much for coming
on the show. Really appreciate it. Thank you for having us. Thank
you. All right, I'm RyanGorman here on iHeartRadio Communities, and now
let me bring in my next guest. I'm joined now by the CEO of
No More, Pamela Zabala. Youcan learn more about the work this organization
(13:33):
does at no More dot org.That's no More dot org. Pamela,
thank you so much for taking afew minutes to come on the show.
And let's start with an overview ofthe work your organization does and how this
organization first came about. Hi,thank you for having me. No More
started in twenty thirteen, and itstarted as a unifying symbol pretty much like
(13:56):
breast cancer with the pink ribbons inorder ready doing free visability to the issues
of domestic violence and sexual assaults.And after that ten years after we've grown
and become the largest and most successfuldomestic violence and sexual assault prevention initiative.
We have a network of around fourteenhundred allied organization and more than thirty state,
(14:22):
local, and international campaigns or chaptersas we call them. So what
do you attribute that tremendous growth to? Is there something in particular the issue
that you know, domestic and sexualviolence it affects one in three women globally
and one in six men, forexample, So we know that in a
lifetime people would have gone through thiskind of abuse in such huge numbers that
(14:46):
you know it's it's in a pandemicproportion. So once you kind of start,
you know, opening that ability ofpeople to speak up and tell their
stories, there are many people,well they're very similar story who start sharing
and you know, all of asudden, this kind of activism growth and
growth. You have a statistic onyour website that really stood out to me.
(15:09):
I thought it was eye opening.Sixty four percent of those who were
victims of domestic violence or sexual assaultsaid no one helped them. Can you
speak to why you think so manypeople who have gone through something as horrific
again as domestic violence or sexual assault, didn't have anybody who was there to
(15:30):
help them in their time of need. Of course, there's a lot of
stigma around domestic violence, so ofcourse it's really hard for people to just
like tell the truth of what's happening, just in the first stance, to
admit it to themselves and then actuallyto reach out. And once they do,
the problem is because it's such somethingthat is kept secret people, many
(15:56):
people will not know what to dowith this information. They don't know how
to help. Many people advise youto stay with your partners to try to
work things out, so it becomeskind of quite difficult. And also in
terms of getting support. Finding helpis in terms of NGOs. There's fantastic
work out there, but if youhave to leave your house because you're scared,
(16:19):
grabs your children, all your belongings, and where do you go,
that kind of help is difficult.So it's it's a challenge for people to
decide to leave relationships, and manyof them endure, so it is difficult.
I think Ryan, as we speakmore about this, more people are
(16:41):
figuring out what to do, howto help, where to refair, and
that is you know that start warming. I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by Pamela
Zabala, CEO of No More.You can learn more about the work this
organization does at no More dot org. I want to break things down to
the basics here for a second.Can can you step us through the definition
(17:02):
what exactly constitutes domestic violence? Yes, domestic violence is the exertion of power
and control from one partners to another, So it is, and that comes
in all kinds of ranges that canbe done by emotional abuse, financial abuse,
psychological tactics, but it all comesdown to that exertion of control of
(17:27):
one person or another. And youknow, in this case we talk a
lot about intimate partner violence, butthis can also occur in other types of
family content. And then what aboutsexual assault. Sexual assault is pretty much
any type of sexual advance that hasno consen to it. And remember when
(17:48):
we talk of content, we talkedabout enthusiastic consent. So if somebody is
doing something of a sexual nature thatis not appropriate or without your permission,
then you know, you know,that is sexual violence. Going from coming
to the realization that you're a victimof domestic violence, or that you're a
victim of sexual assault and getting tothe point where you're ready to reach out
(18:14):
and seek help. How difficult ofa leap is that for victims to make?
It got me a big leap one, because you have to if people
don't go into relationships try and thinkingthat they will be abused or that they
will end them in such a way. Right, So the first kind of
big barrier that survivors have is forthemselves right to admit that, you know,
(18:37):
there is an issue that is affectingthem so much that they have to
make a decision of believing or saying. Many people decide to say and endure.
Once people decide to look for help, we have they're fantastic. As
I said, three sources available theNational Domestic Violence Helpline. If you ring
them, they will hear your story. Risks you know as Fesster level of
(19:03):
danger because in many situations this canbe life threatening. So it's important I
advise anybody hearing us. If you'rein doubt about your relationship, call a
local provider called the National Domestic LinanceHelpline. They're also amazing apps like one
called right Side where you can putyour postcode Ryan, and you will immediately
(19:26):
see all the services around you.Getting professional help is important and it's usually
the majority of case is free ofcost. So it's important to figure out
how you're doing for those who mightsuspect someone in their life, perhaps it's
a family member or friends that they'reexperiencing domestic violence, or they've experienced a
(19:49):
sexual assault. What is it thatyou would recommend they do to help those
in that difficult time. The firstthing is to listen. When somebody comes
to you and then they tell youthat they are suffering domestic violence, you
might be the first person they're disclosingto. So believing somebody and not just
(20:14):
trying to undermine what they're saying ortrying to minimize that. It's really important.
Just remember you might be that veryfirst person, so listening is important.
Then responding with empathy you know thatyou're understanding the situation, and then
help them to find resources and referringthem to professional support. What about taking
(20:34):
the step of intervening trying to helpsomeone dealing with domestic violence or sexual assaults
in that way? I you know, we always kind of caution, you
know, on the side of safetywith this question, Ryan, because I
believe domestic violence is one of theleading pasts of police debts when they go
into situations like this, So itis very important to make sure that you're
(21:00):
fight and that you're actually your interventionis not going to make that person less
safe. So, you know,if if this is a situation where you
believe there's somebody in the middle ofa physical assault or the best way to
proceed is to get help in thiscase by calling nine one one. Some
other resources that you have on thewebsite that I think are important to step
(21:22):
through, tips for healthy dating,and also an explainer on consent. Can
you dive into that for a moment, Yes, you know, when we
we you know, as if wetalk about domestic violence and sex of violence,
we we like to talk about healthyrelationships, what does that look like
and model those and the world atthe moment is ever changing. You know,
(21:45):
we're changing the way that we date, the way that we kind of
start relationships is you know, notlike thirty years ago. So it's very
important to you know, give upget out their messaging that it's kind of
confident that how to start a relationship, how to go about dating if you're
doing it in real life if youare you know, online dating. But
(22:07):
yeah, most importantly is how tokeep safe. I'm Ryan Gorman with Pamela
Zabala, CEO of No More,an organization working to help those dealing with
domestic violence and sexual assault. Youcan learn more at No More dot org.
So Pamela tell us about No MoreWeek twenty twenty four. Yes,
we're very excited. Every year wedo this kind of activism weeks called No
(22:30):
More Week, and yes, thisthis year is from the third to the
ninth as you kind of you know, highlight it and really where it's a
way to come together and make surethat we are raising our voice against this.
We know there's no simple solutions toit, so we're doing a in
terms of the events, we're doinga virtual five K that's supported by the
(22:53):
NFL, where participants are welcome toyou know, engage in this in any
way way they can. They canwalk round you know, bikes and whatever,
pickable, whatever they want to reallyyou know, elevate the voice.
And we are also doing a textconference where we are talking I think we
(23:15):
have fourteen sessions around technology and abuse, so very welcome to you know,
please go to No More dot org. And you'll be able to see No
More Week and you'll be able tosee what we're doing there. And how
has participation in this event No MoreWeek, or other initiatives that you've put
forward, How has that participation grownin recent years as your organization has grown.
(23:41):
There is a kind of a snowballeffect, right. The more we
pick up, the more other peopledecide to go out tell your story with
organizations like the work that we didNo More at the beginning and just putting
people voices and other movements like MeToo. So there is much much more
attention now than ever before on thetopic, and you know that is very
(24:06):
grateful saying that though the problem isthe more people speak up, the more
others are reporting, for example,and so we know how endemic the situation
is. So whilst there is youknow, more voices, there's still not
(24:26):
enough to tackle such an issue.You mentioned the Me Too movement and your
organization No More started before that,and then obviously you've continued to work through
that. How big of a gamechanger was that moment? It was?
It was, but it was agreat It was a complete game changer,
and partially it's for you know,the reason that I've you know, I've
(24:49):
been talking around it is this acknowledgementthat this situation that people keep quiet about
happened and it up to a lotof people and it's not only me.
And also that your story is verysimilar to mine. And it doesn't matter
if I'm in the States or Iam in you know, Germany, or
(25:12):
I am in Argentina. The patternsin which domestic violence is exerted and sexual
assault are very similar. So Ithink that's what we gained in that moment
in time, was this understanding thatthe issue was not only a family issue,
but it was actually a global problem. One of the most powerful parts
(25:33):
of your website and everyone can goto no More dot org to check this
out. The stories that you highlightpeople who have dealt with domestic violence and
sexual assault. Tell us about that. Yes, you can go to our
website. It's some more dot orgour stories and people come in and share
their story. And the fantastic thingof that platform, ran is that people
(26:00):
share their story, but there's aback team of volunteers that you know,
we'll also interact with a person sharingtheir story in case they need something,
they need information, they need furthersupport, and it's not only the stories
that you see, but it's alsoyou can kind of tag in and if
you experience, like, let's say, physical abuse, you can put physical
(26:22):
abuse and all the stories regarding thatwill come up for you. So in
that way it you know, it'squite interactive and safer, for example,
than other kind of ways of youknow, sharing stories. At the moment,
I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by theCEO of No More, Pamela Zabala.
This is an organization working to helpthose dealing with domestic violence and sexual
assaults. You can learn more atno More dot org. Again, that's
(26:45):
no More dot org. How canpeople who are listening right now take action
and become part of the work thatyou're doing. One of the one of
the ways is to inform themselves tolearn about domestic violence in any shape,
way or form. You know.One of the bits that we did with
iHeart was supporting I podcast about theGirlfriend, which was an incredible story of
(27:11):
a group of women who all datedan abusive boyfriend. And the reason that
I am bringing that up is becauseit might just be even listening to a
podcast, you know, to astory about that just enhances your ability to
understand the issues, So that's oneimportant thing. And once you understand,
(27:32):
raise your voice. Right. Weuse moments like no more weeks coming up
to just say that you stand againstthis, that you believe, that you
know this is an issue that affectsmany, and that you are you know
ready to you know, say thatthere are no more excuses to condone this
kind of behavior. And finally,those who are listening right now who might
(27:55):
be dealing with domestic violence or mighthave experienced sexctual assault, what would you
recommend they do, whether it's goingto Know More dot org, the resources
you have available there, or anythingelse to help with the situation they find
themselves in. If you go toour website, you'll be able to see
(28:15):
a site that we have all noMore Directory dot org, and that is
basically a database of organizations throughout theworld. We cover over two hundred countries
that I believe we need two ornone of the lists at the moment for
several reasons. But when you dothere, you go there, you choose
(28:37):
your country and you can see allthe resources that are available there for domestic
violence and sexual assaults. You know, if you're hearing us in the States,
you can also call the National DomesticViolence Helpline and they'll be able to
provide support. But in terms ofour website, you'll be able to find
dedicated resources and work to go throughthrough that site, Pamela, Chief executive
(29:00):
officer for No More Again. Youcan learn more about all the tremendous work
they do and support that work atno More dot org. That's no More
dot Org. Pamela. I wantto thank you so much for taking a
few minutes to come on the show, and of course for all the great
work you and your organization are doingon this issue. Thank you so much.
All right, and that's going todo it for this edition of Ihearidio
(29:22):
Communities. As we wrap things up, I want to offer a big thanks
to all of our guests and ofcourse to all of you for listening.
If you want to hear previous episodesof this show, we're on your iharidio
app. Just search for Iharidio Communities. I'm your host, Ryan Gorman.
We'll talk to you again real soon.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a publicaffairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting
you. This week, here's RyanGorman. Thanks so much for joining us
here on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm RyanGorman, and we have a few very
important conversations lined up for you.In just a bit, we'll check in
with an organization working to help thosedealing with domestic violence and sexual assault.
(00:23):
Pamela Zabala, CEO of No More, will discuss those issues and share some
really vital information, so make sureto stick around for that. But first
kick things off. Joining me now, I have doctor Christy Marrinac, health
Science Advisor in the CDC Office onSmoking and Health, and angp who is
featured in the CDC's Tips from FormerSmokers campaign. I want to thank you
(00:46):
both so much for taking a fewminutes to come on the show. And
doctor Marinac, let me start withyou. Can you give us a sense
as to how much progress we've madein this country in recent decades in reducing
the amount of people who are smallcigarettes. Yeah, in nineteen sixty five,
when we first started to record thenumber of people who smoked, about
(01:07):
nearly one in two American adults smoked. We have been able to reduce that
to about one in nine, Sothat's still twenty eight million American adults who
smoke cigarettes and even more who useother combusted tobacco products that are people like
cigars and hookah. So we havea lot of work to do. And
(01:29):
as we've seen declined in the numberof all people who smoke, we've actually
seen an increase of the proportion ofpeople who smoke mental cigarettes. And mental
cigarettes disproportionately harm certain groups, includingAfrican American people, LGBTQI plus individuals and
(01:49):
women. So the Tips from FormerSmokers campaign reaches people who smoke with real
stories from people who smoked, andand there's the powerful message that you can
quit too. So you mentioned howmental cigarettes in particular disproportionately impact certain groups.
Can you elaborate on that. ForMentol is an ingredient that the tobacco
(02:13):
industry adds to cigarettes that has bothnumbing and cooling properties and a minty taste
and aroma, and it allows forcigarette smoke to be inhaled more easily and
more deeply into the lungs. Ithelps it be easier to start smoking and
harder to quit smoking, and thetobacco industry has specifically marketed mental cigarettes to
(02:37):
specific groups. For example, AfricanAmerican people are often features and featured in
ads for mental cigarettes, and abouteighty five percent of Black people who smoke
use mental cigarettes. So including peoplewho are included in our campaign who smoked
mental cigarettes, and we want toreach everybody who smokes, including people who
(03:00):
smoke mental cigarettes, to let themknow that quitting is difficult, but it
is possible and help is available.What are some of the most common medical
conditions that are associated with smoking?Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body.
It causes thirteen different types of cancers, and is a leading preventable cause
(03:22):
of death and disease in this country. But quitting smoking is beneficial at any
age. You begin to experience thebenefits of quitting smoking almost immediately, and
even at older ages you can improveyourself by quitting smoking. It is never
too late. The earlier you quit, the better, But any age is
(03:45):
a good age to quit smoking.The mental cigarettes that you were mentioning a
moment ago, have they had anyimpact on people's ability to quit smoking.
Mentol does make it more difficult toquit smoking, but it's still possible,
and people like Angie who smoked mentalcigarettes have been able to quit successfully,
(04:08):
often using evidence based methods that weknow can double or triple your chances of
quitting successfully, including counseling and SDAapproved medications for quitting smoking. I'm Ryan
Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities, joinedby doctor Christy marinech health Science Advisor in
the CDC Office on Smoking and Health, and Angip, who's featured in the
(04:30):
CDC's Tips from Former Smokers campaign.Angie, let me bring you in now,
when did you first start smoking?And then fast forward for us to
when you decided it was time toquit. I've spoken At the age of
thirteen, both my parents smoked,and my mother threw her cigarettes in the
garbage because she was done, andthen I came behind her and picked them
(04:54):
up and started smoking. Wow.I quit smoking and Thanksgiving weekend two thousand,
so I smoked from the age ofthirteen up until two thousand and two
thousand. I was at a restaurantand a guy was talking about a program
that he was quitting smoking, andI listened to him, and the restaurant
was crowded, so I knew thatit was for my ears only because everything
(05:15):
he was saying made sense to me. And I called and got a doctor
and a counselor and they did thebiocycle social and I haven't smoked since.
What was it that led you tofirst start smoking? Was it just that
your mom had smoked, so youpicked up the habit too. Was there
something else that led you to continueto smoke once you started? For sure?
(05:41):
I mean as far as I wasconcerned, all the cool people smoked,
So yeah, I wanted to becool and I wanted to be in
with the cool people, and yeah, and so that's why I continued.
It's like, once I was addicted, there was no stopping. And you
smoked menthol cigarettes, right, yes, sir? So what was it about
Menthol cigarettes that drew you to thattype of cigarette specifically? Well, it
(06:04):
was the one that's what my parentssmoked, and so yeah, I knew,
like when I grabbed her cigarette thatday that you know, the nicotine
was what the mentall was what Igot addicted to. And it was because
it was not that hard going in, you know what I mean, it
was it was minty, it wasyou know, Yeah, when you decided
(06:27):
to finally quit smoking, How difficultof a process was that for you?
It was very difficult. The withdrawalfrom nicotine are horrendous. You know.
I had like cold hills, Isweat, you know, I couldn't get
the smell of cigarettes off of me. It was it was hard. And
(06:49):
after all those years of smoking andbeing around smoking because your mother smoked too,
How concerned were you about your healthat that point. I wasn't as
concerned about my health as I wasabout my singing voice, because I've been
singing since I was three, andso I sang in rhythm and blues bands
and gospel choirs and even had asin in Vegas, and that's more.
(07:13):
I was more concerned about that thananything, like I wanted to be able
to continue to sing, but bythe time I stopped, you know,
and it caused problems for me.I'm Ryan Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities,
joined by doctor Christy Marinach, healthscience advisor in the CDC Office on Smoking
and Health, and angp who's featuredin the CDC's Tips from Former Smokers campaigns.
(07:36):
So when you finally quit, whatwas it that led you to that
point where you said, you knowwhat, I'm done. Now. I'm
sure you have had your struggles alongthe way. This is not an easy
habit to kick. We all knowthat. But what was it that got
you over that hump to where youcould quit smoking? It was probably about
(07:58):
maybe three months six months that Ireally really believed that it was possible for
me to stop, and that whenI went past or saw signs or whatever,
I didn't automatically I wasn't attracted tothem the way that I was prior
to getting help. Were there certainparts of your day, certain aspects of
your life where it was a littlemore difficult to not reach for that cigarette
(08:22):
as you were going through the processof finally quitting, well, I had
to replace a lot of things likeI would get up, smoke, make
coffee and smoke a cigarette. Andso what I started doing was not making
the coffee and walking my dog.I started to do some work on me
spiritually, and I started sending spiritualretreats and real you know, realize like
(08:45):
in my work as far as myspiritual worker was concerned, that this was
not something that I had to doand if I saw I can possibly help
so many other people telling them howI did it. Did you feel some
significant help benefits once you had stoppedsmoking, once you reached that, like
you said, three to six monthrange, I'll tell you what what happened
(09:09):
was. I began to I beganto taste food again. I didn't realize
how much food I was not tastingwhile I was smoking. I like burned
all that off, and when Ibegan to taste food again, it was
it was pretty cool, Like,Okay, this what it tastes like for
real. I'm Ryan Gorman, joinedby doctor Christy Marinack, health Science Advisor
(09:31):
the CDC Office on Smoking and Health, and a GP who's featured in the
CDC's Tips from Former Smokers campaign,Doctor Marynach. Let me go back to
you for a moment. Can youtell us a little bit more about some
of these different strategies that help peoplequit smoking. Sure, so we at
(09:52):
the historm Former Smoker's campaign. Itpromotes the use of the free quit line
in every state one eight hundred QuitNow, and if you call that line,
you'll be connected to a trained counselorwho will talk to you without judgment
and assess your needs and help youcome up with a plan. As well
(10:13):
as a quit date. You canalso talk to your doctor about whether medications
that are approved by the FDA forquitting smoking that might be right for you.
We know that when people combine boththe counseling that you can get from
the one eight hundred Quit Now aline with FDA approved sensation medications, they
can double or triple their chances ofquitting successfully. You know. Auntie also
(10:39):
talked about how when you take awaysmoking from your life, you can replace
it with positive things. It's notjust about losing something that gave structure to
your life. You can add inthings that add structure to your life.
So Antie was going for walks withher dog in the morning and replace replace
(11:01):
that healthy behavior so that she didn'tneed that morning cigarette anymore. But we
really do encourage you, if youwould like free, trained, non judgmental
help, to call one eight hundredquid now. One thing we've seen in
recent years, as the number ofpeople in this country smoking cigarettes has decreased,
(11:22):
the number who are now vaping hasincreased substantially. Can you talk a
little bit about that. Yes,these cigarettes are now the most commonly used
tobacco product among middle and high schoolstudents, as well as young adults ages
eighteen to twenty five, and manyof the adults who now use e cigarettes
(11:43):
never smoked cigarettes. We know thatthere's no such thing as a stafe tobacco
product, and etherrets contain nicotine aswell as flavors that can make them particularly
appealing to young people. The aerosolthat you inhale and an e cgret not
only contains nicotine, but also cancontain other things that can be harmful,
(12:05):
including heavy metals and chemicals that cancause cancer. So there's no safe tobacco
product, and we encourage people tonever start using tobacco products and if you
use them, to quit. Angie, let me go back to you for
one final question based on your experiencehaving quit smoking, any tips for those
(12:26):
who are out there who are thinkingabout quitting or want to quit but haven't
been able to up to this point. Sure, you know, I felt
very judged, especially after my parentsquit and then I continued smoking, so
I was very I was afraid ofbeing judged and that's the one thing that
kept me from doing anything. Andwhen I went and got help, they
(12:50):
just showed me ways that I couldI could help myself, Like, we're
not going to do it all youknow, you have to do some things
as well, and so I justalready doing different stuff. When I smoked
cigarettes, my skin was so somuch darker than it is now. It
just affected everything. Doctor Christy Merrinac, health Science advisor in the CDC Office
(13:11):
on Smoking and Health, and angpwho's featured in the CDC's Tips from Former
Smokers campaign. Doctor Merrinac, Angie, thank you both so much for coming
on the show. Really appreciate it. Thank you for having us. Thank
you. All right, I'm RyanGorman here on iHeartRadio Communities, and now
let me bring in my next guest. I'm joined now by the CEO of
No More, Pamela Zabala. Youcan learn more about the work this organization
(13:33):
does at no More dot org.That's no More dot org. Pamela,
thank you so much for taking afew minutes to come on the show.
And let's start with an overview ofthe work your organization does and how this
organization first came about. Hi,thank you for having me. No More
started in twenty thirteen, and itstarted as a unifying symbol pretty much like
(13:56):
breast cancer with the pink ribbons inorder ready doing free visability to the issues
of domestic violence and sexual assaults.And after that ten years after we've grown
and become the largest and most successfuldomestic violence and sexual assault prevention initiative.
We have a network of around fourteenhundred allied organization and more than thirty state,
(14:22):
local, and international campaigns or chaptersas we call them. So what
do you attribute that tremendous growth to? Is there something in particular the issue
that you know, domestic and sexualviolence it affects one in three women globally
and one in six men, forexample, So we know that in a
lifetime people would have gone through thiskind of abuse in such huge numbers that
(14:46):
you know it's it's in a pandemicproportion. So once you kind of start,
you know, opening that ability ofpeople to speak up and tell their
stories, there are many people,well they're very similar story who start sharing
and you know, all of asudden, this kind of activism growth and
growth. You have a statistic onyour website that really stood out to me.
(15:09):
I thought it was eye opening.Sixty four percent of those who were
victims of domestic violence or sexual assaultsaid no one helped them. Can you
speak to why you think so manypeople who have gone through something as horrific
again as domestic violence or sexual assault, didn't have anybody who was there to
(15:30):
help them in their time of need. Of course, there's a lot of
stigma around domestic violence, so ofcourse it's really hard for people to just
like tell the truth of what's happening, just in the first stance, to
admit it to themselves and then actuallyto reach out. And once they do,
the problem is because it's such somethingthat is kept secret people, many
(15:56):
people will not know what to dowith this information. They don't know how
to help. Many people advise youto stay with your partners to try to
work things out, so it becomeskind of quite difficult. And also in
terms of getting support. Finding helpis in terms of NGOs. There's fantastic
work out there, but if youhave to leave your house because you're scared,
(16:19):
grabs your children, all your belongings, and where do you go,
that kind of help is difficult.So it's it's a challenge for people to
decide to leave relationships, and manyof them endure, so it is difficult.
I think Ryan, as we speakmore about this, more people are
(16:41):
figuring out what to do, howto help, where to refair, and
that is you know that start warming. I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by Pamela
Zabala, CEO of No More.You can learn more about the work this
organization does at no More dot org. I want to break things down to
the basics here for a second.Can can you step us through the definition
(17:02):
what exactly constitutes domestic violence? Yes, domestic violence is the exertion of power
and control from one partners to another, So it is, and that comes
in all kinds of ranges that canbe done by emotional abuse, financial abuse,
psychological tactics, but it all comesdown to that exertion of control of
(17:27):
one person or another. And youknow, in this case we talk a
lot about intimate partner violence, butthis can also occur in other types of
family content. And then what aboutsexual assault. Sexual assault is pretty much
any type of sexual advance that hasno consen to it. And remember when
(17:48):
we talk of content, we talkedabout enthusiastic consent. So if somebody is
doing something of a sexual nature thatis not appropriate or without your permission,
then you know, you know,that is sexual violence. Going from coming
to the realization that you're a victimof domestic violence, or that you're a
victim of sexual assault and getting tothe point where you're ready to reach out
(18:14):
and seek help. How difficult ofa leap is that for victims to make?
It got me a big leap one, because you have to if people
don't go into relationships try and thinkingthat they will be abused or that they
will end them in such a way. Right, So the first kind of
big barrier that survivors have is forthemselves right to admit that, you know,
(18:37):
there is an issue that is affectingthem so much that they have to
make a decision of believing or saying. Many people decide to say and endure.
Once people decide to look for help, we have they're fantastic. As
I said, three sources available theNational Domestic Violence Helpline. If you ring
them, they will hear your story. Risks you know as Fesster level of
(19:03):
danger because in many situations this canbe life threatening. So it's important I
advise anybody hearing us. If you'rein doubt about your relationship, call a
local provider called the National Domestic LinanceHelpline. They're also amazing apps like one
called right Side where you can putyour postcode Ryan, and you will immediately
(19:26):
see all the services around you.Getting professional help is important and it's usually
the majority of case is free ofcost. So it's important to figure out
how you're doing for those who mightsuspect someone in their life, perhaps it's
a family member or friends that they'reexperiencing domestic violence, or they've experienced a
(19:49):
sexual assault. What is it thatyou would recommend they do to help those
in that difficult time. The firstthing is to listen. When somebody comes
to you and then they tell youthat they are suffering domestic violence, you
might be the first person they're disclosingto. So believing somebody and not just
(20:14):
trying to undermine what they're saying ortrying to minimize that. It's really important.
Just remember you might be that veryfirst person, so listening is important.
Then responding with empathy you know thatyou're understanding the situation, and then
help them to find resources and referringthem to professional support. What about taking
(20:34):
the step of intervening trying to helpsomeone dealing with domestic violence or sexual assaults
in that way? I you know, we always kind of caution, you
know, on the side of safetywith this question, Ryan, because I
believe domestic violence is one of theleading pasts of police debts when they go
into situations like this, So itis very important to make sure that you're
(21:00):
fight and that you're actually your interventionis not going to make that person less
safe. So, you know,if if this is a situation where you
believe there's somebody in the middle ofa physical assault or the best way to
proceed is to get help in thiscase by calling nine one one. Some
other resources that you have on thewebsite that I think are important to step
(21:22):
through, tips for healthy dating,and also an explainer on consent. Can
you dive into that for a moment, Yes, you know, when we
we you know, as if wetalk about domestic violence and sex of violence,
we we like to talk about healthyrelationships, what does that look like
and model those and the world atthe moment is ever changing. You know,
(21:45):
we're changing the way that we date, the way that we kind of
start relationships is you know, notlike thirty years ago. So it's very
important to you know, give upget out their messaging that it's kind of
confident that how to start a relationship, how to go about dating if you're
doing it in real life if youare you know, online dating. But
(22:07):
yeah, most importantly is how tokeep safe. I'm Ryan Gorman with Pamela
Zabala, CEO of No More,an organization working to help those dealing with
domestic violence and sexual assault. Youcan learn more at No More dot org.
So Pamela tell us about No MoreWeek twenty twenty four. Yes,
we're very excited. Every year wedo this kind of activism weeks called No
(22:30):
More Week, and yes, thisthis year is from the third to the
ninth as you kind of you know, highlight it and really where it's a
way to come together and make surethat we are raising our voice against this.
We know there's no simple solutions toit, so we're doing a in
terms of the events, we're doinga virtual five K that's supported by the
(22:53):
NFL, where participants are welcome toyou know, engage in this in any
way way they can. They canwalk round you know, bikes and whatever,
pickable, whatever they want to reallyyou know, elevate the voice.
And we are also doing a textconference where we are talking I think we
(23:15):
have fourteen sessions around technology and abuse, so very welcome to you know,
please go to No More dot org. And you'll be able to see No
More Week and you'll be able tosee what we're doing there. And how
has participation in this event No MoreWeek, or other initiatives that you've put
forward, How has that participation grownin recent years as your organization has grown.
(23:41):
There is a kind of a snowballeffect, right. The more we
pick up, the more other peopledecide to go out tell your story with
organizations like the work that we didNo More at the beginning and just putting
people voices and other movements like MeToo. So there is much much more
attention now than ever before on thetopic, and you know that is very
(24:06):
grateful saying that though the problem isthe more people speak up, the more
others are reporting, for example,and so we know how endemic the situation
is. So whilst there is youknow, more voices, there's still not
(24:26):
enough to tackle such an issue.You mentioned the Me Too movement and your
organization No More started before that,and then obviously you've continued to work through
that. How big of a gamechanger was that moment? It was?
It was, but it was agreat It was a complete game changer,
and partially it's for you know,the reason that I've you know, I've
(24:49):
been talking around it is this acknowledgementthat this situation that people keep quiet about
happened and it up to a lotof people and it's not only me.
And also that your story is verysimilar to mine. And it doesn't matter
if I'm in the States or Iam in you know, Germany, or
(25:12):
I am in Argentina. The patternsin which domestic violence is exerted and sexual
assault are very similar. So Ithink that's what we gained in that moment
in time, was this understanding thatthe issue was not only a family issue,
but it was actually a global problem. One of the most powerful parts
(25:33):
of your website and everyone can goto no More dot org to check this
out. The stories that you highlightpeople who have dealt with domestic violence and
sexual assault. Tell us about that. Yes, you can go to our
website. It's some more dot orgour stories and people come in and share
their story. And the fantastic thingof that platform, ran is that people
(26:00):
share their story, but there's aback team of volunteers that you know,
we'll also interact with a person sharingtheir story in case they need something,
they need information, they need furthersupport, and it's not only the stories
that you see, but it's alsoyou can kind of tag in and if
you experience, like, let's say, physical abuse, you can put physical
(26:22):
abuse and all the stories regarding thatwill come up for you. So in
that way it you know, it'squite interactive and safer, for example,
than other kind of ways of youknow, sharing stories. At the moment,
I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by theCEO of No More, Pamela Zabala.
This is an organization working to helpthose dealing with domestic violence and sexual
assaults. You can learn more atno More dot org. Again, that's
(26:45):
no More dot org. How canpeople who are listening right now take action
and become part of the work thatyou're doing. One of the one of
the ways is to inform themselves tolearn about domestic violence in any shape,
way or form. You know.One of the bits that we did with
iHeart was supporting I podcast about theGirlfriend, which was an incredible story of
(27:11):
a group of women who all datedan abusive boyfriend. And the reason that
I am bringing that up is becauseit might just be even listening to a
podcast, you know, to astory about that just enhances your ability to
understand the issues, So that's oneimportant thing. And once you understand,
(27:32):
raise your voice. Right. Weuse moments like no more weeks coming up
to just say that you stand againstthis, that you believe, that you
know this is an issue that affectsmany, and that you are you know
ready to you know, say thatthere are no more excuses to condone this
kind of behavior. And finally,those who are listening right now who might
(27:55):
be dealing with domestic violence or mighthave experienced sexctual assault, what would you
recommend they do, whether it's goingto Know More dot org, the resources
you have available there, or anythingelse to help with the situation they find
themselves in. If you go toour website, you'll be able to see
(28:15):
a site that we have all noMore Directory dot org, and that is
basically a database of organizations throughout theworld. We cover over two hundred countries
that I believe we need two ornone of the lists at the moment for
several reasons. But when you dothere, you go there, you choose
(28:37):
your country and you can see allthe resources that are available there for domestic
violence and sexual assaults. You know, if you're hearing us in the States,
you can also call the National DomesticViolence Helpline and they'll be able to
provide support. But in terms ofour website, you'll be able to find
dedicated resources and work to go throughthrough that site, Pamela, Chief executive
(29:00):
officer for No More Again. Youcan learn more about all the tremendous work
they do and support that work atno More dot org. That's no More
dot Org. Pamela. I wantto thank you so much for taking a
few minutes to come on the show, and of course for all the great
work you and your organization are doingon this issue. Thank you so much.
All right, and that's going todo it for this edition of Ihearidio
(29:22):
Communities. As we wrap things up, I want to offer a big thanks
to all of our guests and ofcourse to all of you for listening.
If you want to hear previous episodesof this show, we're on your iharidio
app. Just search for Iharidio Communities. I'm your host, Ryan Gorman.
We'll talk to you again real soon.
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