Clicking on the Web, by Howard Lestrud, ECM Online Managing Editor -- In the United States, an estimated 26.2 million men (23.5 percent) and 20.9 million women (18.1 percent) are smokers. These statistics are continuing to spiral downward mainly due to the efforts of former smokers and because of the work done by the volunteers of the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association.
Every third Thursday of the year is declared the Great American Smokeout. That event will be observed this year on Thursday, Nov. 19.
The idea for the Great American Smokeout grew out of a 1974 event. Lynn R. Smith, editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, spearheaded the state’s first D-Day, or Don’t Smoke Day. The idea may have been inspired by Arthur P. Mullaney of Randolph, Massachusetts. Three years earlier, Mullaney asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund.
I recall very vividly the passion Publisher and Editor Smith had for the Great American Smokeout. I interviewed him on several occasions and his message was always one of wanting to save lives by helping others quit smoking. His son Donald Smith continued to carry the fight against smoking by using the newspaper as a tool to get the message across.
Let’s learn more about the beginning of the Great American Smokeout and find out how it works by going to the American Cancer Society Web site at http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/content/All_About_Smokeout.asp
The Smokeout urges smokers to smoke less or quit for the day on the Great American Smokeout day, hoping that these efforts will lead to no more smoking the rest of one’s life. My mother-in-law was a heavy smoker and managed to quit, something most of her loved ones thought they would never see. Her past history of over 50 years of smoking, however, contributed to her death at age 75.
In many towns and communities, local volunteers support quitters, publicize the event, and press for laws that control tobacco use and discourage teenagers from starting.
Research shows that smokers are most successful in kicking the habit when they have some means of support, such as:
• nicotine replacement products
• counseling
• stop-smoking groups
• telephone smoking cessation hotlines
• prescription medicine to lessen cravings
• guide books
• encouragement and support from friends and family members
Using 2 or more of these measures to help you quit works better than using any one of them alone. For example, some people use a prescription medicine along with nicotine replacement. Other people may use as many as 3 or 4 of the other measures listed above.
Telephone stop smoking hotlines are an easy-to-use resource. And as of 2008, they are available in all 50 states. Call 1-800-ACS-2345 (1-800-227-2345) to find telephone counseling or other support in your area.
Support is out there, but the most recent information suggests that fewer than 1 in 4 smokers reports having tried any of the recommended therapies during his or her last quit attempt.
The American Heart Association at http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4559 provides some interesting statistics:
• Among whites, 23.5 percent of men and 18.8 percent of women smoke (2006).
• Among blacks, 26.1 percent of men and 18.5 percent of women smoke.
• Among Hispanics, 20.1 percent of men and 10.1 percent of women smoke.
• Among non-HIspanic Asians, 16.8 percent of men and 4.6 percent of women smoke.
• Among American Indians/Alaska Natives, 35.6 percent of men and 29.0 percent of women smoke.
Find out some Minnesota smoking facts by going to http://www.weallpaytheprice.com/#the-costs/economic-costs/fact-1.html
Annually, smoking costs Minnesota nearly $2 billion in health care costs. The average cost of cigarettes in Minnesota is $4.24 while each pack smoked in Minnesota costs an estimated $8.65 in medical expenses and lost productivity.
In Minnesota, 634,000 moms, dads, sons, daughters, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles continue to smoke. Children of smokers are almost twice as likely to smoke as children of nonsmokers. Whether it’s family, friends, co-workers or neighbors, tobacco use leads to over 5,500 deaths in Minnesota each year.
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general. Smoking is responsible for nearly 1 in 3 cancer deaths, and 1 in 5 deaths from all causes. Another 8.6 million people are living with serious illnesses caused by smoking.
Each year, the Great American Smokeout also draws attention to the deaths and chronic diseases caused by smoking. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, many state and local governments responded by banning smoking in workplaces and restaurants, raising taxes on cigarettes, limiting cigarette promotions, discouraging teen cigarette use, and taking further actions to counter smoking.
Those states with strong tobacco control laws are now reaping the fruits of their labor. They have markedly lower smoking rates and fewer people dying of lung cancer, according to a 2003 report in Cancer Causes and Control. The study found that lung cancer death rates among adults age 30-39 were lower and falling in most states that had strong anti-tobacco programs. In states with weak tobacco control, lung cancer rates were higher and climbing. Another study published in 2008 showed this trend between tobacco control and lung cancer continues.
Second hand smoke is another concern for everyone’s health. It is a given that one can be healthier if not a smoker. Read the information that is available on the Web about smoking. Encourage smokers to quit now!
Every third Thursday of the year is declared the Great American Smokeout. That event will be observed this year on Thursday, Nov. 19.
The idea for the Great American Smokeout grew out of a 1974 event. Lynn R. Smith, editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, spearheaded the state’s first D-Day, or Don’t Smoke Day. The idea may have been inspired by Arthur P. Mullaney of Randolph, Massachusetts. Three years earlier, Mullaney asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund.
I recall very vividly the passion Publisher and Editor Smith had for the Great American Smokeout. I interviewed him on several occasions and his message was always one of wanting to save lives by helping others quit smoking. His son Donald Smith continued to carry the fight against smoking by using the newspaper as a tool to get the message across.
Let’s learn more about the beginning of the Great American Smokeout and find out how it works by going to the American Cancer Society Web site at http://www.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/content/All_About_Smokeout.asp
The Smokeout urges smokers to smoke less or quit for the day on the Great American Smokeout day, hoping that these efforts will lead to no more smoking the rest of one’s life. My mother-in-law was a heavy smoker and managed to quit, something most of her loved ones thought they would never see. Her past history of over 50 years of smoking, however, contributed to her death at age 75.
In many towns and communities, local volunteers support quitters, publicize the event, and press for laws that control tobacco use and discourage teenagers from starting.
Research shows that smokers are most successful in kicking the habit when they have some means of support, such as:
• nicotine replacement products
• counseling
• stop-smoking groups
• telephone smoking cessation hotlines
• prescription medicine to lessen cravings
• guide books
• encouragement and support from friends and family members
Using 2 or more of these measures to help you quit works better than using any one of them alone. For example, some people use a prescription medicine along with nicotine replacement. Other people may use as many as 3 or 4 of the other measures listed above.
Telephone stop smoking hotlines are an easy-to-use resource. And as of 2008, they are available in all 50 states. Call 1-800-ACS-2345 (1-800-227-2345) to find telephone counseling or other support in your area.
Support is out there, but the most recent information suggests that fewer than 1 in 4 smokers reports having tried any of the recommended therapies during his or her last quit attempt.
The American Heart Association at http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4559 provides some interesting statistics:
• Among whites, 23.5 percent of men and 18.8 percent of women smoke (2006).
• Among blacks, 26.1 percent of men and 18.5 percent of women smoke.
• Among Hispanics, 20.1 percent of men and 10.1 percent of women smoke.
• Among non-HIspanic Asians, 16.8 percent of men and 4.6 percent of women smoke.
• Among American Indians/Alaska Natives, 35.6 percent of men and 29.0 percent of women smoke.
Find out some Minnesota smoking facts by going to http://www.weallpaytheprice.com/#the-costs/economic-costs/fact-1.html
Annually, smoking costs Minnesota nearly $2 billion in health care costs. The average cost of cigarettes in Minnesota is $4.24 while each pack smoked in Minnesota costs an estimated $8.65 in medical expenses and lost productivity.
In Minnesota, 634,000 moms, dads, sons, daughters, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles continue to smoke. Children of smokers are almost twice as likely to smoke as children of nonsmokers. Whether it’s family, friends, co-workers or neighbors, tobacco use leads to over 5,500 deaths in Minnesota each year.
Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general. Smoking is responsible for nearly 1 in 3 cancer deaths, and 1 in 5 deaths from all causes. Another 8.6 million people are living with serious illnesses caused by smoking.
Each year, the Great American Smokeout also draws attention to the deaths and chronic diseases caused by smoking. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, many state and local governments responded by banning smoking in workplaces and restaurants, raising taxes on cigarettes, limiting cigarette promotions, discouraging teen cigarette use, and taking further actions to counter smoking.
Those states with strong tobacco control laws are now reaping the fruits of their labor. They have markedly lower smoking rates and fewer people dying of lung cancer, according to a 2003 report in Cancer Causes and Control. The study found that lung cancer death rates among adults age 30-39 were lower and falling in most states that had strong anti-tobacco programs. In states with weak tobacco control, lung cancer rates were higher and climbing. Another study published in 2008 showed this trend between tobacco control and lung cancer continues.
Second hand smoke is another concern for everyone’s health. It is a given that one can be healthier if not a smoker. Read the information that is available on the Web about smoking. Encourage smokers to quit now!
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