NOVEMBER 2014
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
THE
GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT – The promise for a healthier life
The
use of tobacco products remains the nation’s No. 1 cause of preventable death,
killing more than 480,000 Americans and nearly 600 Alaskans each year from
direct use and exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. As of
2012, there were also 13.4 million cigar smokers in the United States, and 2.3
million who smoke tobacco in pipes — other dangerous and addictive forms of
tobacco. The
mounting evidence from ongoing research continues to reveal even more health
harms and the deadly consequences from both direct smoking and exposure to
secondhand smoke.
The Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, along with
its key partners, are working together to prevent tobacco use and end this
epidemic. One way is to support Alaskans who use tobacco in their efforts to
quit. An effective and timely opportunity is the American Cancer Society’s Great American
Smokeout— now in its 38th year — that will take place Thursday,
November 20, 2014.
WHY IS THE GREAT
AMERICAN SMOKEOUT AN IMPORTANT DAY?
- It prompts people to quit smoking, if even for one day. In 1976,
the year before the first official national Great American Smokeout, the
California Division of the American Cancer Society successfully prompted nearly
one million smokers to quit for the day.
-
By
quitting — even for one day — smokers will be taking an important step
toward a healthier life – one that can lead to reducing cancer risk.
-
Many who
participate have been able to quit.
-
Nearly 70% of Alaska’s smokers want
to quit.[1]
- Among
Alaska’s adults who have ever smoked, 60% have
quit.[1]
The 2014 U.S. Surgeon
General’s Report, The Health Consequences
of Smoking-50 Years of Progress, presents a compelling case for sustaining
and redoubling our efforts to prevent and reduce tobacco use. Even though
today’s smokers smoke fewer cigarettes, they are at higher risk of developing
lung cancer — a result of changes since 1950 in the design and composition of
cigarettes that have increased the levels of cancer-causing chemicals. Between
1959 and 2010, lung cancer risks rose dramatically: for women, the risk
increased tenfold; for men, the risk doubled.
Of great concern, in
recent years products
known as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes, e-cigs, vape pens, e-hookah) have
been marketed by the tobacco industry and other manufacturers as a new nicotine
delivery system. These battery powered devices heat nicotine, flavor additives,
and other chemicals to produce an aerosol inhaled and exhaled by the user.
These products are currently unregulated. United States Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) research into the content found the aerosol potentially
hazardous to the public’s health due to tobacco-specific nitrosamines and other
volatile organic compounds.[2]
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) reports an alarming trend in e-cigarette use among
our youth. According to this CDC
report, a recent study found that more than a quarter-million youth who had
never smoked a cigarette used e-cigarettes in 2013. This is a threefold increase between 2011 and 2013. The study’s data show that youth who had
never smoked conventional cigarettes but who used e-cigarettes were almost
twice as likely to intend to smoke conventional cigarettes as those who had
never used e-cigarettes.[3]
EFFECTIVE HELP TO QUIT
Quitting can be hard, but the
chances of success increase considerably with help, and Alaskans have access to
one of the best support systems. The FREE
services of Alaska’s Tobacco Quit Line, at 1-800 QUIT NOW, provide personal
coaching support and FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy. Quit Line coaches are
specially trained for nicotine addiction counseling and can provide the tips to
get tobacco users through the difficult task of eliminating nicotine from their
lives.
In FY14, Alaska’s Tobacco Quit Line provided
coaching and free nicotine replacement therapy to 2,683 Alaskans. The program has expanded to include web-based
coaching and a Text2Quit program giving more support options to Alaskans for a
successful quit attempt.
-
Text2Quit allows those who are quitting the opportunity to work
with a quit coach through their mobile phone. Text2Quit features a series
of interactive text messages — including tips on coping skills, games,
quizzes, and motivational and educational reminders — that are
personalized to a participant's quit plan.
-
Web Coach is an online program with an extensive array of
support tools, including: connecting online with a Quit Coach or other
tobacco users who are looking to quit; engaging with other participants through
forums, blogs, profile pages and articles; and using Quit Tracker to chart
their progress and see how much money they’ve saved since quitting
tobacco.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF QUITTING
The health benefits of quitting start immediately from the moment of smoking cessation. Quitting while you are younger will reduce your health risks more, but quitting at any age can give back years of life that would be lost by continuing to smoke. In as little as 20 minutes after your last cigarette your body will begin to experience improvements in health such as lower blood pressure and heart rate. In the following weeks and months many more health benefits will follow eventually leading to a risk of heart disease no higher than that of a non-smoker.
Citations
-
Alaska
Department of Health and Social Services. Alaska Tobacco Facts Report – 2014.
Anchorage, Alaska: Section of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,
Division of Public Health, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services;
August 2014. Available here.
- Fairchild,
Amy L PhD, MPH, Bayer, Ronald PhD, Colgrove, James PhD, MPH, New England
Journal of Medicine January 23, 2014; 370: 293-295. Available here.
- Office on Smoking and
Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
(2014, August 25). More than a
quarter-million youth who had never smoked a cigarette used e-cigarettes in
2013 [Press Release]. Available here.
|
