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Epidemiology Corner November 12, 1999
Great American Smokeout
November 18th will be the 29th Great American Smokeout.* This year the focus will be on helping adults quit and helping young people understand the risks of tobacco use. The American Cancer Society (ACS) will continue their "Commit to Quit" program. ASC volunteers will conduct smoking - cessation and smoking prevention activities at hospitals, work sites, schools, shopping malls and other locations. Last week's MMWR stated "Smoking—once a socially accepted behavior—is the leading preventable cause of death and disability in the United States." The death rate for lung cancer increased as smoking increased, first among men then women. Approximately 48 million U.S. adults smoke cigarettes. It is predicted that half of those who continue to smoke will die from a smoking related disease and is responsible for 430,000 deaths each year. Another projection is that 5 million of today’s children will die prematurely because they started smoking as adolescents. The longer a person smokes and as the number increases per day, the greater the risk for developing lung cancer. If a person stops smoking prior to the development of cancer, the lung tissue will gradually return to normal. According to the American Cancer Society, an ex-smokers risk for lung cancer will be about half that of the person who continues to smoke. *Information is available from ACS, 1-800-227-2345; CDC, 1-800-232-1311; or the ACS, Great American Smokeout World Wide-Web site, http://www.cancer.org |
