• 11/18/2004
  • Amy Redwine
  • Delta Democrat Times

It is estimated by the American Cancer Society that more than 45 percent of Americans are smokers, which should make for an interesting public hearing tonight — and for some interesting moments Thursday during the annual Great American Smokeout. That’s also one reason why Mississippi has joined in a new quit smoking initiative.

Tonight’s public hearing at 6 at the Greenville Higher Education Center will be to receive public input on whether downtown businesses should be smoke free.

“We do need to hear all people, smokers and non-smokers, but if more people were educated on the dangers of smoking they would never start in the first place and they would try harder to quit,” said Audine Haynes, director of the Washington County Anti-Drug Task Force Community Partnership.

Haynes said people have told her that stopping smoking is harder that giving up harder drugs. Haynes said she supports the project because her father was a smoker and died from the effects of tobacco products. She said she has also seen her own husband who is, “very a strong-willed and strong-minded person,” try to stop smoking with no success. Haynes says she wants people to stop smoking before they reach the state where they are unable to or to never start in the first place.

Millions of smokers have used the American Center Society’s Great American Smokeout to help them quit or reduce their tobacco use during its 28 years, says the Oregon Research Institute. However, the smokeout is not just targeted at cigarettes as it has been in the past. This year, even smokeless tobacco users are being encouraged to participate.

According to the institute a unique resource has been added to help chewers and dippers quit — the ChewFree.com Web site, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, offers a free, self-help quitting program, created by the Oregon Research Institute.

“Many people mistakenly believe that chewing tobacco and snuff are safe alternatives to smoking,” says Dr. Herb Severson of Oregon Research Institute, the project director.

“In fact, regular use of these products leads to cancer of the mouth, other cancers and heart disease, as well as a wide variety of dental problems.”

In fact the U.S. surgeon general has concluded that smokeless tobacco can cause oral cancer and can lead to nicotine addiction. The American Heart Association estimates that nationwide, 25.6 million males smoke and 22.6 million women smoke. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson has announced that one of the initiatives is the opening of a national quitline access number that puts users in touch with programs to help them quit smoking.

The tollfree number is a single access point to the National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitline. Mississippi callers are automatically rotated to state quitline.

“What starts as a single puff can become a death sentence for millions of Americans,” Thompson said. “Americans want to quit smoking, and they should quit smoking.” Thompson said these initiatives will help Americans kick the habit and save their own lives.

Another new initiative is the HHS Web site www.smokefree.gov. The Web site offers online advice and information to make quitting easier.