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BUTLER COUNTY –
Thursday, we will celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the Great American Smokeout Festival. Each year, the American Cancer Society encourages smokers to quit and use other forms of tobacco for at least a day, in hopes that it will continue longer.
Stopping smoking is of particular concern in Butler County, which has had one of the highest infant mortality rates in Ohio, with maternal smoking during and after pregnancy being one of the locally targeted death factors. .
The non-profit partnership Envision Partnerships operates a program called Baby & Me Tobacco Free that helps pregnant women or new mothers quit smoking. Those who succeed can receive up to $ 350 in vouchers for Walmart diapers.
"In the United States, smoking is one in five deaths, which means that it kills more Americans than alcohol, road accidents, HIV, weapons to fire and illicit drugs, "said Alexandra Houser-Vukoder, spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society in Ohio. "And if you smoke again after hearing this, it shows how addictive it is."
The company notes that smoking has been more than halved since 1965, the year when 42% of adults smoked, up in 2016, when this rate was about 15.5%.
Meanwhile, another front has emerged in the fight against smoking, Houser-Vukoder said: e-cigarettes and electronic cigarette use in children, a trend that, according to the Food and Drug Administration, has increased by 75% among young people in the last year, especially because of children's flavors without tobacco. In September, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb called the use of e-cigarettes by teens an "epidemic of addiction."
"We are really asking the FDA to stop selling flavored tobacco products to children," Houser-Vukoder said. "The FDA is aware of the crucial role these flavors – pumpkin spice, chocolate mint and Hawaiian Punch – play in the skyrocketing use of e-cigarettes. It's a gateway. "
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Mary Beth Haubner is a prevention specialist at Envision Partnerships, which co-hosts the Baby & Me program locally. Baby & Me operates in 21 states.
"What we teach mainly in the program is that, in the case of smoking, the umbilical cord with the pregnant mother does not allow her to give her baby 100% of the nutrients and oxygen provided by the umbilical cord. to smoke, "said Haubner.
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"The baby has normal blood flow, but when you smoke, nicotine reduces veins, reduces blood flow, oxygen and blood supply," she said. "It's really something serious."
This is one of the major contributing factors to local infant mortality, as well as the need for safe sleep methods and the need for prenatal care including progesterone injections for those who need it because of a deficit. hormone, she said. Mothers who smoke also put the baby at a disadvantage after giving birth due to second-hand smoke.
Pregnant women are referred to the Baby & Me program through the Women, Babies and Children (WIC) program and other agencies. Those who regularly follow the program are tobacco-free – there are tests – can earn up to 14 $ 25 dollar coupons. If a family member follows the program, he can earn an additional $ 350 worth of vouchers.
"While smoking rates have dropped, about 37.8 million Americans smoke cigarettes," according to the company. "About half of Americans who continue to smoke will die because of their tobacco use. Every year, more than 480,000 people in the United States die from diseases caused by smoking. This means that every year smoking causes about 1 in 5 deaths in the country.
Houser-Vukoder also said: "Smoking not only causes cancer, but damages almost all organs of the body."
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The cancer society provides help to those who want to quit at http://www.cancer.org/smokeout.
Smoking, combined with cigar and pipe smoking, accounts for 29% of all cancer deaths and is the leading cause of cancer deaths, the cancer society said. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women. Other cancers caused by smoking are cancers of the voice box, mouth, sinuses, throat, swallow tube and bladder.
Smoking has also been associated with cancers of the pancreas, cervix, ovaries, colon / rectum, kidneys, stomach and some forms of leukemia.
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SMOKING RATE IN ZONE COUNTIES
The rate of smoking among Ohio adults was 21% in 2016. Here are the rates in the counties of the region:
Source: Ohio Department of Health
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