 Smoking costs our state $1.62 billion in health care costs
annually. That means Oklahoma taxpayers – whether they smoke or not – are
paying $899 per household to offset this costly burden. In addition to the
economic burden smoking places on our state, tobacco use cuts lives short and
impacts the health outcomes of our children and grandchildren.
That’s why, in this New Year, the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline is offering to help
make your new year a healthier, tobacco-free one. The Helpline provides FREE
resources to Oklahomans who are thinking about quitting tobacco, currently
quitting tobacco, former users wanting to stay tobacco-free and even those who
want to support loved ones or patients.
As TSET’s executive director and as an Oklahoman who benefited
from the free services offered by the Helpline, I am proud of the services we
provide to people who want to quit tobacco use. In fiscal year 2017 alone,
the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline saw a 38% increase in the number of Oklahomans
registering for services, with more than 35,000 tobacco users registered for
services between July 2016 and June 2017. The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline
is exceeding national benchmarks for success with a 32.2% quit rate for
Helpline callers who report 30 days smokefree 7 months after registering for
services. Quit rates among tobacco users who
quit cold turkey are at 5%.
Quitting can be hard. Let the top-ranked
Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline help.
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Do you want to learn
more about preventing and reducing tobacco use in Oklahoma? Then check out the
Tobacco Stops With Me newsletter.
Tobacco Stops With Me is a statewide effort educating the public about the
negative effects and impact of tobacco. Together, we can achieve a healthier
Oklahoma. Join the fight by pinning yourself on the map, stay informed by signing up for the newsletter, be tobacco-free and connect with a local TSET Healthy Living grantee in your community.
Shape Your
Future has printable downloads available
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Looking for some fun activities and downloads this
Valentine’s
Day? Find free resources from Shape Your Future, including printable
Valentine’s Day card packs with a fun, healthy twist, along with snack ideas to
incorporate fruits and veggies into classroom celebrations. You can also check
out a downloadable poetry activity for kids to let out their inner Shakespeare and tell loved ones
why it’s important to be tobacco-free. Learn more about eating better, moving
more and being tobacco free at ShapeYourFuture.com and share your healthy
Valentine’s Day activity ideas with us at @ShapeFutureOK. |
Robyn Sunday-Allen,
chief executive officer of the Oklahoma City Indian Health Clinic, with TSET
Executive Director, John Woods at Rotary Club 29
TSET Executive Director John Woods spoke to
Rotary Club 29 of Oklahoma City in December, the largest Club in Rotary International with
over 600 members. Woods updated the group on Oklahoma’s health and the three
health behaviors -- unhealthy diet, sedentary lifestyle and tobacco use – that
lead to the four chronic conditions responsible for 60 percent of deaths in
Oklahoma. Woods also discussed TSET’s efforts to prevent unhealthy behavior’s from taking root and making the health choice the easy choice and recent progress
in Oklahoma’s record low adult smoking rate as well as a decrease in adult obesity at
a time when other states are seeing adult obesity increase. Watch Woods’ full
speech here.
 Labored breathing and hospital stays weren’t unusual for
Lori Charboneau when she was a smoker. Charboneau is one of the thousands of
Oklahomans who have used the Oklahoma Tobacco
Helpline to stop smoking. The changes Charboneau and others are making help
improve health outcomes for Oklahomans. Oklahoma’s smoking rate is at an
all-time low with just 19.6 percent of Oklahoma adults smoking and obesity
among Oklahoma adults is declining for the first time since 2011, according to
data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year.
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