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Help Your Readers Quit Smoking During The Great American Smokeout(R) Thursday, Nov. 15
SACRAMENTO, Calif.-(Business Wire)-November 10, 2007 - The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2007 about 168,000 cancer deaths will be caused by tobacco use alone. Because tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, now is a good time to encourage your readers to quit smoking.
Thursday, November 15 is a day for smokers to make their plan to quit, and for health advocates to join the fight to help their communities enact smoke-free laws. Smokers can obtain free information on quitting at www.cancer.org/greatamericans. By calling the American Cancer Society Quitline(R) at 800-ACS-2345 smokers can double their chances of quitting for good.
Story ideas to highlight the Great American Smoke Out:
Experts Testify that People of Color Are At Risk
Among California's ethnic communities, the problem of nicotine addiction is alarming. One in five African-Americans are smokers and one in three Native Americans are smokers—twice the California average. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among Latinos in the United States. African-Americans continue to suffer disproportionately from chronic and preventable diseases compared to white Americans. Of the three leading causes of death in African Americans—heart disease, cancer and stroke—smoking and other tobacco use are major contributors to these illnesses according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts: Cynthia Robinson, Program Management Coordinator, National African American Tobacco Education Network, 916/556-3344
Roxanna Bautista, Program Director, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum 415/568-3304
Lupe Alonzo Diaz, Executive Director, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California 916/448-3234
Dangerous Hookah (water pipe) Bars Becoming Trendy as Youth Smoking is on the Rise
Hookah bars are becoming a trendy gathering place for young adults. At the same time, the CDC has just reported that tobacco use is increasing amongst teenagers. Waterpipe smokers can be exposed to sufficient doses of nicotine to lead to addiction. Waterpipe smoke produces similarly increased blood nicotine levels and increases in heart rate as cigarette use. According to hookahhookah.com there are over 100 hookah bars in California today.
Contact: Maria Robinson, American Cancer Society 916/446-7933 x 311
Valuable Resources to Help Smokers Quit - New Website Launch
A new website has been launched to help smokers quit and help employers help their employees quit. www.CalQuits.org offers a clearinghouse or tobacco cessation resources, up to the date research, links to statewide smoking cessation programs and smoking fact sheets.
California residents can also access the following resources to help them quit smoking at:
California Smokers' Helpline
1-800-No-Butts
www.californiasmokershelpline.com.
American Cancer Society's Quitline(R)
1-800-ACS-2345
www.cancer.org/greatamericans, to embark on a personal plan to quit.
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
http://www.apiahf.org/programs/apiten/
National African American Tobacco Education Network
www.NAATEN.com
Smoking in the Workplace
Cigarette smoking reduces productivity and increases medical expenses, which increase costs for employees, employers and taxpayers alike. Here in California, smoking costs the state $15 billion each year in lost productivity and increased healthcare costs. Californians are currently paying more than $8 billion annually in healthcare costs related to smoking. Whether you smoke or not, that's more than $700 a year for every family.
Smoking rates are stalled at 21 percent and are on the rise for youth.
The decades-long decline in smoking by Americans has stalled for three years, the first time smoking rates have leveled off for that long since the federal government began collecting statistics nearly half a century ago. Smoking rates for high school students have hit a plateau in the past few years and, ominously, are beginning to increase. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0823760820071108
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