38 years later, tobacco still kills too many New Yorkers

NORWICH – Even though this marks the 38th year of the Great American Smokeout, tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable disease and death, killing more than 25,000 New Yorkers every year.
Quitting smoking is the single most important step you can take to reduce your risk of cancer. The American Cancer Society suggests that 60 percent of cancers could be avoided if people stopped using tobacco. Smoking is the major cause of lung cancer which is responsible for more deaths than the next three most common cancers combined (colon, breast, and prostate).
The New York State Tobacco Control Program effectively reduces tobacco use, saves lives and saves money. The Department of Health estimates that approximately 35 percent of the total decline in adult smoking is attributable to youth prevention strategies. The significant reduction in smoking among young adults will reduce future health care costs by approximately $5 billion.
“Efforts to help smokers quit and keep kids from starting to smoke will continue to have a major impact on the health of New York State now and in the future,” said James Mutabiilwa, Tobacco Free Chenango program coordinator. “We hope smokers take advantage of all the resources available today for the Great American Smokeout and give quitting a chance.”
“After 17 years of smoking, on May 4, 2008, I smoked my last cigarette. I took the 2 week cessation class offered at Golden Artists Colors where I work,” said Jonie Bassett, a Chenango County resident, remembering her journey to a smoke free life. “The class taught me valuable tools to utilize during my transition into a smoke free life. Those tools are the reason I have been successful in remaining smoke free for over 5 years. I know I will never start again because it would ruin all that I have accomplished in the time I have been smoke free. Now, every morning, I go for a mile plus run first thing. I used to get up and smoke 5 cigarettes while drinking three cups of coffee. I have more energy then I did ten years ago. I smell better. My teeth feel better, look brighter. My skin is healthier.”
Sarah Sands, an employee of Golden Artist Colors, Inc, has some very powerful words to share about her reason for quitting.
“Certainly I myself was seemingly immune to dozens of stories and piles of facts about the dangers of smoking. There were the countless times when I did the mental calculus of so many minutes lost per cigarette, but it was all abstract, out there. Besides, I was one of those bad examples of the bad joke: ‘quitting is easy. I’ve done it dozens of times.’ And I truly had quit... for a week here, a month there, but always lapsing back with the plan to limit it to just one cigarette every now and then. But, we know how that goes. So what finally changed? Sadly, it took my Mom getting diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer at 68 and given just 6 months to live. Throughout the actual two years she did live, I tended to her as a companion, caretaker, and friend. By this point, I was in my 40’s and 68 was not some long way off tomorrow that could be shrugged away. It was a countable number of years. The moment she was diagnosed I stopped cold. It wasn’t abstract any more but real, up close, personal, and painfully ugly and messy and unbearably sad. That was seven years ago. I wish it hadn’t taken me living through my mother’s death to finally choose life.”
The 2003 expanded Clean Indoor Air Act, higher taxes and the state’s comprehensive tobacco control program have contributed to a 53 percent reduction of New York’s smoking rate among high school students from 27.1 percent in 2000 to 11.9 percent in 2012. Unfortunately, there are still over 100,000 high school students who smoke in New York State and nearly 20,000 kids become new daily smokers every year.
James Mutabiilwa notes, “Despite a significant drop in the youth smoking rate, we still have a lot of work to do. 90 percent of smokers will start smoking as a teen; so it is essential that we protect youth from tobacco marketing and continue our efforts in youth prevention.”
Tobacco Free Chenango, a program of Chenango Health Network, works in Chenango County to strengthen tobacco related policies to prevent and reduce tobacco use, and limit opportunities for exposure to secondhand smoke.
For a free personalized quit plan, contact the New York State Smokers’ Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS or www.nysmokefree.com.

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