NORWICH – Today marks the American Cancer Society’s 36th Great American Smokeout – a day which not only recognizes the hazards of smoking, but also encourages smokers to commence on a difficult journey to quit.
Though dealing with recent budget cuts, Tobacco Free Chenango is doing what it can to educate the community of the implications of smoking and prevent potential smokers from lighting up for the first time.
“I smoked about four packs a day for ten years in my 30s,” said long time smoker Frank Maiurano. “Quitting is one of the hardest things I ever had to do.”
Maiurano discussed the importance of the Great American Smokeout and said he wishes stories like his would prevent people from beginning the often deadly habit. In his years of chronic smoking, Maiurano developed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and now deals with the challenges of the respiratory ailment.
“I thought I would live forever ... So many people get the idea that nothing bad would ever happen to them,” he said after taking a puff from his inhaler.
Maiurano described how he began smoking when he caved to peer pressure. Smoking was second nature, he said, and when he left home without a pack of cigarettes, he would stop at the nearest convenience store to buy another. “Now, if I forget my inhaler, I have to go back for it because I can’t be without it,” he added.
Eventually, it was Maiurano’s deteriorating health that encouraged him to quit.
“I quit because I wanted to; no one twisted my arm ... I just didn’t want to be on oxygen.” Maiurano said he no longer has the desire to smoke and has not done so in nearly seven years.
James Mutabiilwa, coordinator of Tobacco Free Chenango, is encouraging people like Maiurano to continue their mission to quit. He said that in recent years, while the state average of smokers has declined from 18 to 15 percent, the average number of smokers in Chenango County has actually jumped from 17 to 25 percent since 2009. According to him, this increase of smokers in the county may be linked to recession-related stress and state budget cuts to organizations that educate about tobacco use.
Chenango County is one of seven counties in the state without a policy for smoke free parks and playgrounds. Moreover, there are no tobacco education programs that have been implemented within the county, including in local school districts, according to Mutabiilwa.
“Schools used to have something called Reality Check,” he said, “but that was eliminated by recent budget issues ... There has been less marketing from the state to prevent tobacco use and more marketing from tobacco companies to promote it. Many of the issues and problems with smoking can be solved and much more can be done locally,” Mutabiilwa added.
“If you like hiking, if you like biking, if you like being active, forget it if you start smoking,” Maiurano said.
Tobacco Free Chenango is a program of the Chenango Health Network. For additional information and help in quitting, call Tobacco Free Chenango at 337-4128 or visit tobaccofreechenango.org.