2009 | Tobacco-Free Southwest Indiana

Dogs in smoking households have a 60% greater risk of lung cancer.

Secondhand smoke exposure is linked to cancer, allergies, and respiratory problems in dogs and lymphoma in cats.

The ASPCA lists tobacco smoke as a toxin to pets.

Particles from the more than 4,000 toxic chemicals and gases in secondhand smoke gt trapped in pets’ coats and ingested when they groom themselves.

Nicotine from secondhand smoke can have a detrimental effect on the nervous systems of cats and dogs.

Protect your pets. Get free help to quit smoking by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW. There’s never been a better time to quit.

This letter addressed to Indianapolis Mayor Ballard was published on www.indy.com.

Dear Mayor Ballard,

My name is Michael Quarto. I’m a Cathedral graduate and the proud owner of The Mousetrap. As I’m sure you know, we are one of Indianapolis’ older establishments, having opened in 1957. I bought the place in 2002 and have revamped it quite a bit. I hope you’ll stop by for a bowl of our famous Hot Stew sometime.

The reason for my letter is our absolute need for a smoking ban. If you were in The Mousetrap on a weekend night, you might think I was crazy to want this, as 70-80% of our customers smoke at some point through the night. Through conversations with some of our regular customers, I’ve been told “I’ll never come in here if we can’t smoke” and “we’ll all go to private clubs or each others’ houses”. They are all bluffing.

The fact of the matter is a few of them will stay away for a week or two, even a month. They will come back! Not only will they come back, but also dozens of new customers will join them. For every customer who swears he’ll boycott the bars there are 3 who just will not enter a bar strictly because of the smoke. Most bar owners would prefer to be smoke free right now, but with a very few exceptions, it would be a financial disaster to be the lone non-smoking place. It needs to be all of us. I have read the studies from many of the other cities that have implemented a ban, and they all show relative growth after a minor initial lull, if any lull at all. I’m sure Indianapolis would follow suit.

I, like many others, do have reservations about some of the restrictions though. We have to give reasonable consideration to smokers, because it is still legal and they do have the right to smoke. I believe there are many ways to make these concessions, but we must remove the “25 foot” rule. I cannot imagine the problems that it could cause Downtown or in Broad Ripple, as well as many of our other public venues and facilities. The Convention Center also comes to mind when thinking about a ban.

Losing out on a major convention because a few CEO’s want a place to smoke a good cigar would be a big problem. Most places have more than one entrance. I see no reason why we couldn’t designate “smoke-free entrances”. Also, taking a patron 25 feet from a business provides little options in comfort. Not many places can provide seating, heat and ashtrays that far from their establishment. We need to allow for a reasonably comfortable and convenient area for smokers.

Another issue that obviously concerns business owners on the border of our city is the potential loss of business to a place right down the street, but outside the county line. We must put pressure on these counties to join Marion County’s effort to better serve its constituents. In many other senses, our surrounding counties are very much a part of the Indianapolis community, and they should be required, or at least persuaded to be a part of this necessary endeavor.

This is the right thing to do for our workers, our citizens and the future of our city. Indianapolis has been left behind in the past. We have overcome it to become a major city with ambitious goals and in order to keep it that way we must progress with the rest of the country. A few short years ago I joined many others in denouncing a smoking ban. I was wrong, and if you look around, I’m not alone. Many of us have come to our senses. Our city needs this immediately, and the vast majority of your constituents, including “small business owners” would agree.

Thank you very much for your time and concern.

Sincerely,

Michael Quarto, owner Mousetrap Music, Sports Pub and Game Room

Indiana currently spends $ 11.8 million annually ($ 10.8 million in state funds and a $ 1 million federal grant) on tobacco prevention and cessation programs. This is only 15% of the CDC’s funding recommendation of $ 78.8 million.

Source: Tobacco-Free Kids annual report on states’ funding of tobacco prevention programs: A Broken Promise To Our Children: The 1998 State Settlement 11 Years Later. tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements

“Facts for Life,” brief e-mail messages that provide statistics on the toll of tobacco on Hoosiers and the State of Indiana, are presented by Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.

For more information on Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, visit www.itpc.in.gov, www.WhiteLies.tv, or www.Voice.tv.

Indiana has cut state funding for tobacco prevention programs by 28 percent in the past year and currently ranks 29th in the nation in funding programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit, according to a national report released today by a coalition of public health organizations.

Indiana currently spends $ 11.8 million a year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs, including $ 10.8 million in state funds and a $ 1 million federal grant. This total is just 15 percent of the $ 78.8 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Last year, Indiana ranked 28th, spending $ 16 million on tobacco prevention.

Other key findings for Indiana include:

• In the past year, Indiana has cut state funding for its tobacco prevention program by 28 percent, from $ 15.1 million to $ 10.8 million.


• Indiana this year will collect $ 622 million from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend less than two percent of it on tobacco prevention programs.


• The tobacco companies spend $ 426.2 million a year to market their products in Indiana. This is 36 times what the state spends on tobacco prevention.

The annual report on states’ funding of tobacco prevention programs, titled “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 11 Years Later,” was released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung Association and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation program has contributed to significant declines in tobacco use. Between 2000 and 2008, smoking declined by 42 percent among Indiana high school students (from 31.6 percent to 18.3 percent) and by 58 percent among middle school students (from 9.8 percent to 4.1 percent). However, Indiana still has one of the highest adult smoking rates in the nation at 26.1 percent. Every year, another 8,600 Indiana kids become regular smokers, and tobacco use claims 9,700 lives and costs the state $ 2.1 billion in health care bills.

“Indiana has made significant progress in the fight against tobacco, but Indiana this year has taken a step backward and cut state funding for tobacco prevention by more than a quarter,” said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “Indiana’s progress in reducing tobacco use is at risk unless state leaders restore funding for tobacco prevention. Even in these difficult budget times, tobacco prevention is a smart investment that reduces smoking, saves lives and saves money by reducing tobacco-related health care costs.”

Eleven years after the 1998 state tobacco settlement, the new report finds that the states this year are collecting record amounts of revenue from the tobacco industry, but are spending less of it on tobacco prevention. Key national findings of the report include:

• The states this year will collect $ 25.1 billion from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, but will spend just 2.3 percent of it – $ 567.5 million – on tobacco prevention programs. It would take less than 15 percent of their tobacco revenue to fund tobacco prevention programs in every state at CDC-recommended levels.


• In the past year, states have cut funding for tobacco prevention programs by more than 15 percent, or $ 103.4 million.


• Only one state – North Dakota – currently funds a tobacco prevention program at the CDC-recommended level.


• Only nine other states fund prevention programs at even half the CDC-recommended amount, while 31 states and DC are providing less than a quarter of the recommended funding.

The report warns that the nation’s progress in reducing smoking is at risk unless states increase funding for programs to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. The United States has significantly reduced smoking among both youth and adults, but the CDC’s most recent survey showed that smoking declines among adults have stalled.

Currently 20 percent of high school students and 20.6 percent of adults smoke. Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 400,000 people and costing $ 96 billion in health care bills each year. Every day, another 1,000 kids become regular smokers – one-third of them will die prematurely as a result.

More information, including the full report and state-specific information, can be obtained at www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/settlements.

This letter to the editor was written by Dave Newgent of Owen County Family YMCA.

It seems that RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company has started using allegedly unsolicited direct mailing to promote their untested, unhealthy tobacco products to homes throughout Indiana.   Due to Indiana’s high use of tobacco products, the manufacturer has targeted our state as a “test market” area for their products.

On Friday, the YMCA was notified that a lady in Terre Haute found product samples in her mailbox addressed to her daughter.   On Wednesday, a similar sample was found in the YMCA with some of the product missing.   Could it be that minors had found a mail sample and tried it with their friends at the YMCA?   And after an alert about this new onslaught was sent to our Spencer-Owen Schools, a teacher living in Bloomington emailed that she had received tobacco samples at her residence.

Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States; surpassing traffic accidents and murder combined.   And now, it seems, that RJ Reynolds is mailing their deadly free samples right to your mailbox.   If you do receive these products, please make sure they are out of the reach of children.   The Poison Control Center has already released a bulletin on some of these products because they resemble candy and overuse can cause poisoning, especially in children.

Could this be yet another perfect example of the concern the tobacco companies have for the health of you and your family?

Ireland’s implementation of a workplace smoking ban in 2004 appears tied to a decline in maternal smoking rates as well as lower risk for preterm births, study findings hint.

Compared with the year prior to the smoking ban, 12 percent fewer women reported smoking during pregnancy in the year after the ban, Dr. Zubair Kabir, of the Tobacco Free Research Institute in Dublin, Ireland, and colleagues report.

Their study, in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, also revealed “a welcome sign,” Kabir’s team notes. They observed 25 percent lower risk for preterm births in the year after the smoking ban compared with the year prior to the ban.

Kabir and colleagues analyzed records at Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital to assess whether Ireland’s workplace smoking ban altered smoking during pregnancy, a known risk factor for preterm birth and having a low birth weight infant.

Their comparison included 7,593 births in 2003 and 7,648 births in 2005, and allowed for other maternal factors tied to birth risks such as the mother’s age, number of previous births, alcohol intake, blood pressure, and complications during pregnancy.

Overall, babies with the highest birth weights on average were born to former smokers. By contrast, babies with the lowest birth weights had mothers who smoked during pregnancy.

However, in addition to the noted declines in maternal smoking and preterm birth risk, the investigators also identified 43 percent greater risk for low birth weight in the year after the smoking ban compared with the year prior to the ban.

This finding “is intriguing and needs further exploration,” Kabir and colleagues say, particularly in light of evidence that exposures to secondhand smoke during pregnancy may play a role in having babies with low birth weight.

They also call for further exploration of their observed increase in Caesarean delivery rates – from 15.4 in 2003 to 19.5 percent in 2005.

Source: Low birthweight and preterm birth rates 1 year before and after the Irish workplace smoking ban, BJOG. 2009 Oct 13. [Epub ahead of print], Kabir Z, Clarke V, Conroy R, McNamee E, Daly S, Clancy L., Reuters

Given the current H1N1 flu pandemic, Indiana State Health Commissioner Judy Monroe, M.D. says there’s never been a better time to quit smoking.

“Smoking damages your lung tissue, making you more susceptible to lung infections like bronchitis and pneumonia, which may complicate an influenza infection,” said Dr. Monroe. “Damaged lung tissue does not heal as efficiently after an infection as healthy lung tissue. Smoking also suppresses your immune system, making a smoker more susceptible to getting the flu in the first place.”

“When we look at the hospitalizations and deaths from the 2009 H1N1 flu, we can clearly see the negative impact chronic diseases, including tobacco-related illnesses, have on a person’s risk to develop serious illness or to die from the flu,” said Dr. Monroe.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has targeted individuals aged 25-64 with underlying medical conditions, like asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), to be among the first to get the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine as they are at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

Pregnant women are also targeted to be among the first to receive the H1N1 flu vaccine. According to the CDC, pregnant women are at a higher risk to get the flu and to have severe complications, including preterm labor, severe pneumonia, fetal distress, and even maternal death. Smoking during pregnancy can increase these risks, according to Dr. Monroe.

“Unfortunately, there are counties in our state with significantly higher than average rates of women who are pregnant and smoke,” said Dr. Monroe. “We know pregnant women are at higher risk of complications from the flu, and smoking can only compound the threat.”

“Our goal is to help Hoosiers live longer, healthier lives,” said Karla Sneegas, executive director, Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency. “We know current economic issues in the nation are likely causing extra stress for individuals, which can make it even more difficult to quit. However, we want Hoosiers to know, if you are ready to quit smoking, we are here to help.

“The first step in quitting can be as simple as picking up the phone,” said Sneegas. “The free Indiana Tobacco Quitline – 1-800-QUIT-NOW – is available from 7 a.m. – 3 a.m. seven days a week with highly trained quit coaches ready to help with advice and tips designed to help callers quit for life.”

“Our goal is not only to help people quit using tobacco, but to assist their family and friends as well. A strong support network is critical to success in quitting,” added Sneegas.

For more information regarding information on how to quit using tobacco, call the free Indiana Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit www.in.gov/itpc.

As the official sponsor of birthdays, the American Cancer Society marks the 34th Great American Smokeout on November 19 by encouraging smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. By doing so, smokers will be taking an important step towards a healthier life – one that can lead to reducing cancer risk and creating more birthdays.

In honor of the Great American Smokeout, the Daviess and Pike Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalitions are providing stickers with the Indiana Tobacco Quitline logo and phone number to several pizza restaurants and pharmacies in the area.

Researchers say that quitting smoking can increase life expectancy – smokers who quit at age 35 gain an average of eight years of life expectancy; those who quit at age 55 gain about five years; and even long term smokers who quit at 65 gain three years. Smokers who want to quit can call the Indiana Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW for tobacco cessation and coaching services that can help increase their chances of quitting for good.

Research shows that people who stop smoking before age 50 can cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half compared with those who continue to smoke. Smokers who quit also reduce their risk of lung cancer – 10 years after quitting, the lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. Some of the health effects of quitting are almost instant, too – heart rate and blood pressure drop 20 minutes after quitting.

“There’s no better time to quit than now,” said Sally Petty, Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Project Coordinator for Daviess and Pike counties. “It can improve your health – and the health of your wallet. The average smoker spends more than $ 2,000 per year on cigarettes.”

Important facts about tobacco use:

• Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S.


• Cigarette smoking accounts for about 443,000 premature deaths – including 49,400 in nonsmokers.


• Thirty percent of cancer deaths, including 87 percent of lung cancer deaths, can be attributed to tobacco.


• Smoking also accounts for $ 193 billion in health care expenditures and productivity losses.


• Great progress is being made in reducing tobacco use in the U.S., with adult smoking rates in 2007 declining among all adults to 19.8 percent.

PETERSBURG, Ind. – The Pike County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition has recognized Amber Manor Care Center with the Tobacco-Free Business Award. ITPC Project Coordinator Sally Petty presented a certificate to the facility Monday in honor of their smoke-free grounds policy.

Recognizing the importance of the smoke-free movement, Amber Manor’s campus leadership team has decided to endorse a smoke-free environment. They considered the numerous health risks associated with smoking. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 430,700 American lives each year, and an estimated 50,000 deaths each year are attributable to secondhand smoke breathed by nonsmokers. Smoking adversely affects the health and well-being of all Amber Manor employees, as well as their family members.

Based on feedback from their customers and in an effort to provide a healthier, cleaner home for their residents, Amber Manor will prohibit smoking on campus grounds effective Jan. 1, 2010.

This change will affect employees, campus visitors, and new residents. Current residents who already smoke and who currently reside in their campuses will not be affected by this change. They will be allowed to continue to smoke in designated areas on the campus grounds.

“Economic costs of smoking are estimated to be about $ 3,391 per smoker per year. Increased medical costs, higher insurance rates, added maintenance expenses, lower productivity, and higher rates of absenteeism from smoking and second-hand smoke cost American businesses between $ 97 and $ 125 billion every year,” said Petty. “We are proud of the steps Amber Manor Care Center has taken to protect the health of their employees, residents, and visitors. They set an excellent example for all businesses and healthcare facilities in Pike and surrounding counties.”

For help implementing a tobacco-free policy at your business, contact Petty at 812-698-0232. For free help to quit smoking, call the Indiana Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

The Friday, November 13, 2009 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) announces the 33rd Anniversary of the Great American Smokeout to be observed Thursday, November 19, 2009.

The MMWR also contains articles entitled “Cigarette Smoking Among Adults and Trends in Smoking Cessation – United States, 2008” and “State- Specific Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults – Untied States, 2008.”

Cigarette Smoking Among Adults-United States, 2008 (NHIS)

The rate of adult smoking shows little to no change over the past five years and represents 46 million U.S. adults who were current smokers in 2008.  

According to 2008 National Health Interview Survey data analyzed by CDC, the smoking rate of adults in the United States remained virtually unchanged from 2007 to 2008 at 19.8 percent and 20.6 percent, respectively. 
Adults 25 years of age or older with a GED had the highest prevalence of smoking (41.3 percent) and the lowest quit ratio (39.9 percent).

State- Specific Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults – Untied States, 2008 (BRFSS)

Among states, smoking prevalence was highest in West Virginia (26.6 percent), Indiana (26.1 percent), and Kentucky (25.3 percent) and lowest in Utah (9.2 percent), California (14.0 percent), and New Jersey (14.8 percent).

There are 26 states that have adult prevalence rates at or below the U.S. average of 18%.  These states have one or two important factors in common:

• cigarette taxes higher than $ 2.00 (the national average is $ 1.32)


• statewide comprehensive smoke-free air law 

Of these 26 states:

• 21 states have a comprehensive state smoke free air law.


• 12 states have cigarettes taxes of $ 2.00 or more.


• 12 states have BOTH smoke free air AND high taxes (>/= $ 2.00).

Conversely, the ten highest smoking states have low taxes (< $ 1.00) and no statewide smoke-free air policy.  Indiana is one of these ten states with high prevalence rates.

The CDC states, “to effectively combat the tobacco-use epidemic and reduce smoking rates nationwide, we must protect people from secondhand smoke, increase the price of tobacco, and support aggressive anti-tobacco campaigns that will reduce smoking and save lives.”

Expanding smoke-free policies and encouraging homes that are smoke-free are essential to reducing smoking prevalence and exposure to secondhand smoke. In 2008, the percentage of people in 11 states (including Indiana) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) who reported that smoking was not allowed anywhere inside their home, the median was 78.1 percent.  Indiana’s rate was 69.9 percent reporting a smoke free home policy.  Workplace exposure was reported at 10.5 percent in Indiana and the median was 8.6 percent.