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Secondhand smoke brings many hazards
By Dick Paulsen
This document was published online on Friday, January 02, 2009
Now is the time when many of us start thinking about New Year’s resolutions.
As people often make commitments to make better health choices at this time of year, the American Lung Association (ALA) wants people to consider ways to kick the tobacco habit for good. There has never been a better time to quit smoking.
This year, the American Lung Association in Wyoming and its many health partners will be working in the Legislature to pass a law providing clean indoor air protections for all people in the workplace, including those who work in restaurants and bars.
This may be the year that all citizens of Wyoming will be able to start breathing cleaner, healthier, indoor air. It’s also a great time for individuals to commit to a resolution to quit smoking in 2009.
The American Lung Association offers a variety of programs to help smokers quit.
For example, the ALA in Wyoming has partnered with the ALA in Hawaii to develop an event where friends and family members can help send a person who currently smokes to Hawaii. During a relaxing weekend at a luxury spa in Oahu, the smoker begins the ALA’s smoking cessation program, Freedom from Smoking. A certified smoking cessation trainer continues to work with the participant after the Hawaii weekend to help ensure success in quitting for good.
Those participating will be provided self-motivation, a community of support and knowledge of resources back home to help them on their journey to a healthier, longer life.
In addition to the Hawaii get-away, the ALA has other programs that can help people quit. Freedom From Smoking Online, at www.lungusa.org, is an evidence-based program that has helped millions of smokers kick the habit. People can also call the Lung Help Line at 1-800-Lung-USA to learn more about smoking cessation. The state of Wyoming also sponsors a Quit Line, at 1-800-Quit-Now.
It’s important to remember that many smokers will have to try several times to quit for good, and it’s worth trying a variety of strategies and tools. It’s never too late to quit and it’s a great way to start 2009.
Of course, quitting will benefit the smoker by preventing a wide variety of life-threatening health effects, including lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, asthma and more. There is also a secondary benefit to friends and family – they won’t be exposed to the harmful secondhand smoke from their loved one.
In adults, secondhand smoke causes 3,400 lung cancer deaths and up to 70,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the U.S. each year. It also has immediate health affects in people and has been proven to cause heart attacks with as little as 30 minutes of exposure.
Tobacco smoke causes many serious health conditions for children who are often exposed to it at home or in the car. For those who smoke, we ask that you not smoke around infants and children, who are especially susceptible as their lungs are still developing and childhood exposure to secondhand smoke results in decreased lung function.
Children exposed are more likely to suffer from coughing, wheezing, breathlessness, pneumonia, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), ear infections and even impaired brain development. It also causes more than 202,000 asthma episodes in children with asthma.
In short, there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure. Even brief exposures can be harmful to children and can last a lifetime.
Maybe this is the year the smoker you know can go smokefree. For more information about quitting smoking, or our programs, call the American Lung Association in Wyoming, 1-800-LUNG USA, or visit www.lungusa.org.
(Dick Paulsen is Executive Director of the American Lung Association in Wyoming.)
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