Great American Smokeout

On November 16^th, 2006, the American Cancer Society will celebrate its 30^th annual Great American Smokeout (GAS).  GAS is a day to encourage those in our lives who smoke to quit smoking. 

 Progress!

Approximately 46 million adults are now former smokers!   Per-capita cigarette consumption is lower than at any point since the start of World War II.

 Work to be done

Nonetheless, roughly 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 5 teenagers in the U.S. still smokes. (http://www.cancer.org).  Lung cancer remains the No. 1 cancer killer among men and women.  

 In 2005, students in our community took the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which analyzes choices our kids make about risky behaviors.  Here are some of the results in regards to tobacco use among 8^th graders:

Tobacco Use	CSSU	VT
Smoked on 1 or more days during past 30 days	4%	8%
Smoked every day during past 30 days	2%	3%
Students who think their parents think it is wrong for them to smoke	96%	96%
Students who think it is wrong or very wrong for someone their age to smoke	89%	87%
Students who think that there is great risk of people harming themselves from smoking	71%	69%

 Where prevention comes in

In addition to encouraging those who smoke to quit, it is also a time to encourage those who don’t smoke to stay smoke free!  Here are some tips for parents from the Center for Disease Control to help keep kids smoke-free:

• Tell your children that you disapprove of smoking.  Generally, kids are less likely to participate in something that their parents don’t approve of.

• Remember that despite the impact of movies, music, and TV, parents can be THE GREATEST INFLUENCE in their kids' lives.

• Talk directly to your children about the risks of tobacco use. Let them know it strains the heart, damages the lungs, and can cause a lot of other problems, including cancer. That’s not even mentioning what it can do to appearance: making hair and clothes stink, causing bad breath, and staining teeth and fingernails.

• If you use tobacco, you can still make a difference. Your best move, of course, is to try to quit. Meanwhile, don't use tobacco in your children’s presence, don't offer it to them, don’t ask them to fetch it for you, and don't leave it where they can easily get it.
• Start talking about tobacco use when your children are 5 or 6 years old and continue through their high school years. Many kids start using tobacco by age 11. Many are addicted by age 14.
• Know if your kids' friends use tobacco. Talk about ways to refuse tobacco.
• Discuss with kids the false glamorization of tobacco on billboards and in other media, such as movies, TV, and magazines.

(Taken from: http://www.cancer.org)

 Until next time…stay happy and healthy!

Kate Senecal, ASAC