American Cancer Society, ITPC Mark 34th Great American Smokeout by Encouraging Smokers to Quit

As the official sponsor of birthdays, the American Cancer Society marks the 34th Great American Smokeout on November 19 by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. By doing so, smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life – one that can lead to reducing cancer risk and creating more birthdays.

In honor of the Great American Smokeout, the Daviess and Pike Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalitions are providing stickers with the Indiana Tobacco Quitline logo and phone number to several pizza restaurants and pharmacies in the area.

Researchers say that quitting smoking can increase life expectancy – smokers who quit at age 35 gain an average of eight years of life expectancy; those who quit at age 55 gain about five years; and even long term smokers who quit at 65 gain three years. Smokers who want to quit can call the Indiana Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW for tobacco cessation and coaching services that can help increase their chances of quitting for good.

Research shows that people who stop smoking before age 50 can cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who continue to smoke. Smokers who quit also reduce their risk of lung cancer – 10 years after quitting, the lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. Some of the health effects of quitting are almost instant, too – heart rate and blood pressure drop 20 minutes after quitting.

“There’s no better time to quit than now,” said Sally Petty, Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Project Coordinator for Daviess and Pike counties. “It can improve your health – and the health of your wallet. The average smoker spends more than $2,000 per year on cigarettes.”

Important facts about tobacco use:

• Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S.
• Cigarette smoking accounts for about 443,000 premature deaths – including 49,400 in nonsmokers.
• Thirty percent of cancer deaths, including 87 percent of lung cancer deaths, can be attributed to tobacco.
• Smoking also accounts for $193 billion in health care expenditures and productivity losses.
• Great progress is being made in reducing tobacco use in the U.S., with adult smoking rates in 2007 declining among all adults to 19.8 percent.

Pike Co. TPC Honors Amber Manor Care Center

PETERSBURG, Ind. – The Pike County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition has recognized Amber Manor Care Center with the Tobacco-Free Business Award. ITPC Project Coordinator Sally Petty presented a certificate to the facility Monday in honor of their smoke-free grounds policy.

Recognizing the importance of the smoke-free movement, Amber Manor’s campus leadership team has decided to endorse a smoke-free environment. They considered the numerous health risks associated with smoking. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 430,700 American lives each year, and an estimated 50,000 deaths each year are attributable to secondhand smoke breathed by nonsmokers. Smoking adversely affects the health and well-being of all Amber Manor employees, as well as their family members.

Based on feedback from their customers and in an effort to provide a healthier, cleaner home for their residents, Amber Manor will prohibit smoking on campus grounds effective Jan. 1, 2010.

This change will affect employees, campus visitors, and new residents. Current residents who already smoke and who currently reside in their campuses will not be affected by this change. They will be allowed to continue to smoke in designated areas on the campus grounds.

“Economic costs of smoking are estimated to be about $3,391 per smoker per year. Increased medical costs, higher insurance rates, added maintenance expenses, lower productivity, and higher rates of absenteeism from smoking and second-hand smoke cost American businesses between $97 and $125 billion every year,” said Petty. “We are proud of the steps Amber Manor Care Center has taken to protect the health of their employees, residents, and visitors. They set an excellent example for all businesses and healthcare facilities in Pike and surrounding counties.”

For help implementing a tobacco-free policy at your business, contact Petty at 812-698-0232. For free help to quit smoking, call the Indiana Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

Adult Smoking Rates Remain The Same

The Friday, November 13, 2009 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) announces the 33rd Anniversary of the Great American Smokeout to be observed Thursday, November 19, 2009.

The MMWR also contains articles entitled “Cigarette Smoking Among Adults and Trends in Smoking Cessation – United States, 2008” and “State- Specific Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults – Untied States, 2008.”

Cigarette Smoking Among Adults-United States, 2008 (NHIS)

The rate of adult smoking shows little to no change over the past five years and represents 46 million U.S. adults who were current smokers in 2008.  

According to 2008 National Health Interview Survey data analyzed by CDC, the smoking rate of adults in the United States remained virtually unchanged from 2007 to 2008 at 19.8 percent and 20.6 percent, respectively. 
Adults 25 years of age or older with a GED had the highest prevalence of smoking (41.3 percent) and the lowest quit ratio (39.9 percent).

State- Specific Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults – Untied States, 2008 (BRFSS)

Among states, smoking prevalence was highest in West Virginia (26.6 percent), Indiana (26.1 percent), and Kentucky (25.3 percent) and lowest in Utah (9.2 percent), California (14.0 percent), and New Jersey (14.8 percent).

There are 26 states that have adult prevalence rates at or below the U.S. average of 18%.  These states have one or two important factors in common:

• cigarette taxes higher than $2.00 (the national average is $1.32)
• statewide comprehensive smoke-free air law 

Of these 26 states:

• 21 states have a comprehensive state smoke free air law.
• 12 states have cigarettes taxes of $2.00 or more.
• 12 states have BOTH smoke free air AND high taxes (>/= $2.00).

Conversely, the ten highest smoking states have low taxes (< $1.00) and no statewide smoke-free air policy.  Indiana is one of these ten states with high prevalence rates.

The CDC states, “to effectively combat the tobacco-use epidemic and reduce smoking rates nationwide, we must protect people from secondhand smoke, increase the price of tobacco, and support aggressive anti-tobacco campaigns that will reduce smoking and save lives.”

Expanding smoke-free policies and encouraging homes that are smoke-free are essential to reducing smoking prevalence and exposure to secondhand smoke. In 2008, the percentage of people in 11 states (including Indiana) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) who reported that smoking was not allowed anywhere inside their home, the median was 78.1 percent.  Indiana’s rate was 69.9 percent reporting a smoke free home policy.  Workplace exposure was reported at 10.5 percent in Indiana and the median was 8.6 percent.