The facts -
The largest tobacco
producing state in the nation, North Carolina, is going smoke-free on
January 1st, 2010,
and Missouri lawmakers don't have the cojones to make the Show-Me State
smoke-free? Why are the
tobacco companies still forcing our lawmakers to deprive Missourians of
the right to breathe smoke-free air in
public places?
Nationwide, 28 states now have laws enforcing smoke-free workplaces, restaurants
and/or bars.
(April 2009 -
American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation -
States, Commonwealths, and
Municipalities
with 100% Smokefree Laws in Workplaces, Restaurants, or Bars).
Every day in the
United States alone, tobacco related
illnesses kill 1200 people. That's 440,000
people dying
each year from illnesses caused by tobacco. Friends,
relatives, neighbors, husbands,
wives, children, parents,
grandchildren and grandparents who didn't have to die - or didn't have
to
die young. Smoking is the number one
cause of preventable illnesses - illnesses that don't have to happen - illnesses
that won't happen if exposure to
tobacco smoke is eliminated.
Of those 440,000 deaths each year
- 135,000 are due to
smoking related cardiovascular diseases.
Cigarette
smokers are two-to-three times more likely to die from coronary heart disease
than nonsmokers.
Cigarette smoking is the most
important preventable cause of premature death in the
In Missouri alone, nearly 10,000 people will die this year from smoking related
illnesses caused by their own
smoking.
This year, nearly 10,000
Missouri teenagers and children will start smoking and become daily smokers,
hooked with
the nicotine and smoking addiction after being specifically targeted in
advertising and promotion by the tobacco industry.
This year, kids will buy or smoke 14.1 million packs of cigarettes.
While it's easy to jump on the bandwagon against
illegal drugs, like meth
and
cocaine, smoking kills
more people
than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes,
illegal drugs,
murders, and suicides combined -- and
thousands more die
from
other tobacco-related
causes -- such as fires caused by smoking
and smokeless
tobacco use.
Why do you smoke? - Think about all the negative things smoking does to you AND those around you.
With all of the information we
now know about
the dangers of tobacco,
smoking, and tobacco
related illnesses,
there is no single good nor logical reason to smoke.
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New
Phillip Morris |
If you smoke - you should quit -
it's never too late to get benefits from kicking the habit
It doesn't take a college degree to
see that smoking
kills. Even second hand
smoke kills.
So when you smoke,
you're
not only harming yourself, but
those around you, too. Proven facts. 352,000 children in Missouri
will be exposed
to second hand smoke at home this year alone.
It's a proven fact that
children exposed to smoking are more likely to smoke
themselves
later in life. Do
you
really want your children or
grandchildren to inherit
a legacy of lung
disease, heart disease, emphysema,
lung cancer or worse just
because
you mistakenly believe you
have a right to smoke? What about their right
to breathe
smoke-free air?
If you won't quit smoking for you, how about quitting for your children or
grandchildren? The
life you save may
be theirs.
For more information on
kicking the tobacco habit, contact your local hospital or county
health department.
It's never too late to quit.
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These are your lungs: |
These are your lungs on tobacco: |
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Other tobacco related Information -
The Missouri Legislature and State Government should be ashamed when it comes to tobacco in
Missouri:
- The largest tobacco producing state in the nation, North Carolina, is going
smoke-free on January 1st, 2010,
and Missouri lawmakers don't have the cojones to make the Show-Me State
smoke-free? Why are the
tobacco companies still forcing our lawmakers to deprive Missourians of
the right to breathe smoke-free air in
public places?
- Of the $263.6 million from tobacco settlement payments and tobacco taxes for
FY2008,
Missouri currently allocates
$200,000
for tobacco prevention (0.1%). In prior fiscal years, including FY2007,
Missouri allocated $0 (zero dollars). Missouri
ranks 50th (out of 51) in money actually directed toward tobacco prevention.
(For FY2007 - Missouri ranked 51).
- About 10,000 minors
(under age 18) in
Missouri start smoking every year. It's estimated that more than 21% of
the state's
high school students smoke.
- The Centers for Disease
Control has recommended Missouri spend a minimum of $32.8 million per year on tobacco
prevention - for FY2008, then Governor Matt Blunt
proposed and the House proposed spending just $1 million on tobacco
prevention, well short of the recommended minimum from the CDC. However
the Missouri Senate cut the Governor/House
recommendation by 80% to just $200,000.
- Missouri lawmakers passed the Clean Indoor Air Act back in 1992, but thanks to
the tobacco lobby, there
is no
practical means of enforcing the law. Consequently, the law has
been largely ignored by businesses
and
restaurants in Missouri, even though it bans or limits smoking in most
public places including all retail
businesses,
workplaces
and restaurants. (Click
here for a fact sheet about the Missouri Clean Indoor Air Act
of 1992).
- The chief lobbyist in Jefferson City for the tobacco industry is himself a
designated smoking area in our
Missouri
State Capitol building. He can smoke anywhere he wants to in the state
capitol and anyone within
25 feet of him
can smoke as well in the capitol. Sounds absurd but was verified to be
true. Just one example of
how much power the
tobacco lobby
has in Jefferson City.
The capitol building
is otherwise a smoke free facility.
- While there is no official tally for how much money may go directly into the
pockets of Missouri
legislators from
the tobacco
industry lobby (under the table), any attempt to regulate tobacco in Missouri
appears to be
tightly
controlled and manipulated by the tobacco industry - given the legislature's
poor track record with the
health of
Missouri's citizens and tobacco.
- $2.13 billion per year is spent on health care in Missouri for
smoking related illnesses.
- $532 million in smoking related health care costs per year is covered by
Missouri's Medicaid program - money
coming from every taxpayer in the state.
- The tobacco industry spends more than $423 million per year in Missouri
alone marketing tobacco products
to
Missourians, with much of that specifically targeting young people.
-
Click here for "The Toll of Tobacco in
Missouri" from
www.tobaccofreekids.org.
- Almost 90% of all lung cancer is
directly smoking related. Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in
women,
more than
breast and ovarian cancer combined. Lung cancer deaths surpassed breast cancer
deaths in 1987.
(Click
here for
"Women and Lung Cancer" from
www.lungcancer.org)
- The Surgeon General released a report in 2006 about second hand smoke that
said, in part:
"... there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Nonsmokers
exposed to secondhand smoke
at
home
or work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and
lung cancer by 20 to 30
percent.
The finding is of major public health concern due to the fact that nearly half
of all nonsmoking
Americans
are still
regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. ..." (Click
here for more on this report).
It's time we all got sick of second hand smoke instead of sick from
it. Tell your state senator and representative
that the time has come to become leaders in making second hand smoke and the
related health care costs from
it
things of the past in our Show Me State. Let's tell the tobacco industry that Missourians are
tired of them
running the show when it
comes
to our health. Let's take action now so that next year 10,000 Missourians
don't
have to die from smoking related illnesses.
Click here for a directory of Missouri State Senators.
Click here for a directory of Missouri State
Representatives.
Good luck to
Governor Jay Nixon - who has established a clear record
of working
toward tobacco prevention for the state's citizens and children.
The State of Illinois
became the 22nd state in the nation to go entirely smoke free on January 1st,
2008:
Frequently
Asked Questions about the Smoke Free Illinois Act
Congratulations to the
intelligent citizens of our neighbor to the east!
Links to other sites for tobacco and smoking related information:
_________________________________________________________________________________
www.smokefreemissouri.org and
www.tobaccofreemissouri.org - Who We Are:
Every
American has the right to
breathe smoke-free air. Businesses
and
restaurants
have
a
moral obligation to
protect their patrons and employees by
providing a
smoke free environment.
I am an individual who believes we all have a right to breathe smoke free air.
This site is operated
solely by me and not by any group or organization.
If you work for a health
care related
organization that would like to manage and operate these domains:
www.smokefreemissouri.org and
www.tobaccofreemissouri.org
I will gladly donate them to help protect children from the dangers and
addiction of smoking.
Please contact me via this link:
Send an email
If you have a web site
- you can help spread the word about the dangers of tobacco by linking to
this site: www.smokefreemissouri.org.
If you know of a
web site or operate a site dedicated to
promoting smoke free air or the dangers of tobacco - please contact me via this
link:
Send an email
and I'll be happy to provide a link here.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Site updated 5/27/2009
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