Tobacco a big problem (6/29/04)

Smoking is one of the growing, more publicized problems in the world today. The second-hand smoke issue, as well as the diseases smoking causes are well documented. One of the more overlooked issues centering around smoking is the environmental issue.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, involuntary exposure to second-hand smoke, or SHS, remains a common and serious public health hazard that is entirely preventable by adopting and enforcing appropriate regulatory policies.

Second-hand smoke is responsible for causing respiratory health effects, reproductive and developmental effects, cardiovascular effects, and cancers. According to www.tobacco.org, SHS is responsible for approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths per year among non-smokers in the United States.

However, the amount of people who die from coronary heart disease due to SHS is far higher, reaching 48,500 people each year.

Smoke-free environments are the most effective method for reducing SHS exposure. Healthy People 2010 objectives concentrate on these issues and seek the best possible protection for non-smokers through policies, regulations, and laws requiring smoke-free environments in all schools, work sites, and public places.

Another issue pertaining to the environment is our forests.

Thousands of forests are being knocked down every year for tobacco farming. According to www.TobaccoFreeu.org, over 770 square miles are removed for tobacco farming. This equals an area that is bigger than the entire island of Maui, or the equivalent to 370,000 football fields. With all of the clearing of these forests, in about 15 years we are looking at a major problem.

One of the other issues within the broad environmental aspect is where these cigarettes are going after they have been smoked. Over 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are thrown out worldwide each year. This is a rate of 8 million butts per minute.

According to the city of Raleigh, N.C., waste service, these cigarette butts take 15 years to decompose. This is a problem now and in our future.

The simple math shows that within the 15 years after a cigarette butt is thrown out, before that cigarette butt decomposes, there will be 69 trillion cigarette butts polluting our planet!

This problem includes Jay County. In a recent butt cleanup day in Portland, sponsored by the Jay County Tobacco Free Coalition along with S.W.A.T. (Students Working Against Tobacco) team, students picked up over 2,200 cigarette butts on three main streets in one hour’s time.

Jay County is being polluted every day by hundreds of cigarette butts, which can be prevented. If you are a smoker, there are ways you can help. For example, instead of throwing the cigarette butts out the window, place them in the ashtray in the cars or in the ashtrays placed throughout the streets.

Please be considerate of those who are around and try not to blow smoke in other’s faces. Help keep our environment clean. It just makes sense.

If you would like information on a class or on the dangers of second-hand smoke, please call (260) 726-1925 or e-mail [email protected].

Jay County Tobacco Free Coalition

Josh Gibson, Coordinator

Morgan Daugherty, Intern

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