Tobacco Articles: org cdc

WILLIAMS: Tobacco ban wouldn't be most effective step

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

According to researchers, more than 1 in 5 high school and middle school students are passengers in cars while others are smoking. (One caveat: In the case of the high school students, the study did not determine if they were in cars with their parents or their peers.) The study, based on national surveys in schools, and released by the CDC Monday, reports that more than 22 percent of teens and preteens were exposed to secondhand smoke in cars in 2009. That's the latest year that data are available, according to the Associated Press, but we doubt it has changed much, except perhaps to rise. . . . Smoking is a bad habit. Smokers know it. But turning smokers into criminals isn't the answer. Raising cigarette prices has been somewhat effective, although that has created a black-market trade that will only get worse. Attempts at prohibition didn't work with alcohol. And let's be honest: It hasn't worked with drugs. Why would we expect it to work with tobacco? Education would be a more worthy effort, if we spent as much time ― and funding ― on discussion as we spend trying to dictate individual behavior.

Less Smoke Exposure in Teens' Cars

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Action Points Explain that fewer teens are inhaling secondhand smoke in cars, as efforts continue to limit youth exposure to the potential harms of tobacco. Point out that despite this improvement, just over one-fifth of nonsmoking students reported secondhand smoke exposure in a car in the previous seven days. Fewer teens are inhaling secondhand smoke in cars, as efforts continue to limit youth exposure to the potential harms of tobacco, a nationwide survey found. From 2000 to 2009, the number of adolescents overall who reported riding in cars with someone smoking fell from 48.1% to 29.8% (P<0.001 for trend), according to Brian A. King, PhD, and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. And during that time, the percentage of nonsmoking teens exposed to secondhand smoke in cars decreased from 39% to 22.8%, which was a 71.1% change, the researchers reported online ahead of print in the March issue of Pediatrics.

Secondhand Smoke An Unwelcome Passenger In Cars With Kids

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

About 1 in 5 kids in middle school or high school is exposed to secondhand smoke in cars. Sitting in a car with a smoker is about as close to lighting up as a nonsmoker can get. And quite a few schoolchildren get exposed to secondhand smoke this way, according to an estimate by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 1 in 5 nonsmoking kids in middle and high school reported sharing a car with a smoker who had lit up within a week of answering a survey in 2009. The researchers say the survey, which included responses from thousands of students, gives an accurate snapshot of what's happening across the country.

Smoking and Oral Health in Dentate Adults aged 18–64 [FREE FULL TEXT]: NCHS Data Brief Number 85, February 2012

cdcinfo@cdc.gov — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Key findings Data from the National Health Interview Survey, 2008 * Current smokers (16%) were twice as likely as former smokers (8%) and four times as likely as never smokers (4%) to have poor oral health status. * Current smokers (35%) were almost one and one-half times as likely as former smokers (24%) and more than two times as likely as never smokers (16%) to have had three or more oral health problems. * Current smokers (19%) were about twice as likely as former smokers (9%) and never smokers (10%) to have not had a dental visit in more than 5 years or have never had one. * Cost was the reason that most adults with an oral health problem did not see a dentist in the past 6 months; 56% of current smokers, 36% of former smokers, and 35% of never smokers could not afford treatment or did not have insurance.

CDC: Fewer smokers go to the dentist

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Smokers not only have more problems with their teeth than non-smokers, they also go to the dentist less often. Those are the findings of a new government survey, released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC looked at 2008 survey responses from more than 16,000 adults ages 18 through 64. More than a third of smokers reported having three or more dental problems, ranging from stained teeth to jaw pain, toothaches or infected gums. That was more than twice as much as people who never smoked. But 20 percent of the smokers said they had not been to a dentist in at least five years. Only 10 percent of non-smokers and former smokers had stayed away that long, the study found. Smokers seem to be aware their dental health is worse "but they're not doing anything about it," said Robin Cohen, a CDC statistician who co-authored the new report.

Quitting Smoking May Halve Risk of Oral Health Problems: Smokers four times more likely to develop oral conditions, such as mouth cancers, gum disease, study finds

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Adult smokers are twice as likely to develop oral health problems as those who have kicked the habit, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found. Compared to people who never smoked, current smokers are four times more likely to develop oral conditions, such as mouth cancers, gum disease and cavities. The CDC investigators also found that smokers between the ages of 18 and 64 are nearly 1.5 times as likely as former smokers and more than twice as likely as people who never smoked to have three or more oral health problems. Although current smokers were more likely to acknowledge the importance of oral health issues, they were less likely than former or never smokers to visit a dentist for an existing problem, the findings showed. The researchers reported that people who smoke are about twice as likely to have not been to the dentist in more than five years or not at all. The main reason smokers said they avoided the dentist, the CDC authors noted, was that they couldn't afford dental treatment.

Too many kids exposed to secondhand smoke in cars; more restrictions needed, CDC study says

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Texting while driving, speeding and back-seat hanky-panky aren't all that parents need to worry about when their kids are in cars: Add secondhand smoke to the list. In the first national estimate of its kind, a report from government researchers says more than 1 in 5 high school students and middle schoolers ride in cars while others are smoking. This kind of secondhand smoke exposure has been linked with breathing problems and allergy symptoms, and more restrictions are needed to prevent it, the report says. With widespread crackdowns on smoking in public, private places including homes and cars are where people encounter secondhand smoke these days. Anti-smoking advocates have zeroed in on cars because of research showing they're potentially more dangerous than smoke-filled bars and other less confined areas. The research, from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Million Hearts: Prevention at Work

cdcinfo@cdc.gov — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

This Health and Human Services (HHS) initiative seeks to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes over the next five years by empowering Americans to make heart-healthy lifestyle choices, and improve care for those needing treatment. Announced on September 13, 2011, Million Hearts is co-led by CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Heart disease and stroke are the nation’s leading killers—together causing one of every three deaths. More than 2 million heart attacks and strokes occur every year and treatment for these conditions accounts for approximately $1 of every $6 healthcare dollars. Cardiovascular disease accounts for the largest single portion of racial disparities in US life expectancy. “Heart disease takes the lives of far too many people in this country, depriving their families and communities of someone they love and care for—a father, a mother, a wife, a friend, a neighbor, a spouse,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, MPA. “Each loss deprives our society of their fullest contribution, their creativity, and their productivity. We are paying much too high a price, and together we must and we can do better.” Know Your ABCS – The first line of defense.

CDC Features - Heart Month

cdcinfo@cdc.gov — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

February is American Heart Month, and unfortunately, most of us know someone who has had heart disease or stroke. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States; one in every three deaths is from heart disease and stroke, equal to 2,200 deaths per day. These conditions are also leading causes of disability preventing people from working and enjoying family activities. Cardiovascular disease is also very expensive—together heart disease and stroke hospitalizations in 2010 cost the nation more than $444 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity. However, we can fight back against heart disease and stroke. CDC and other parts of the US government have launched Million Hearts™, to prevent the nation's leading killers and empowering everyone to make heart-healthy choices.

World Cancer Day

cdcinfo@cdc.gov — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

On February 4, CDC joins people, organizations, and government agencies around the world in supporting the fight against cancer. Each year, 7.6 million people die from cancer worldwide; many of these deaths can be prevented. On February 4, CDC joins organizations around the world in supporting World Cancer Day to promote ways to reduce the burden of cancer. Each year globally, 12.7 million people learn they have cancer, and 7.6 million people die from the disease. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease; it kills more than half a million Americans every year. A Global Concern More people die from cancer than from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. The World Health Organization projects that without immediate action, the global number of deaths from cancer will increase by nearly 80% by 2030, with most occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

Secondhand Smoke: Find information on secondhand smoke exposure, health effects, and smoke-free initiatives and resources.

tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT

* How We Can Protect Our Children from Secondhand Smoke Brochures that focuses on protecting children from secondhand smoke exposure. * Sabemos English/Spanish language kit that addresses secondhand smoke exposure. Related Materials * October 2009 Institute of Medicine Report: Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Cardiovascular Effects: Making Sense of the Evidence * Cardiovascular Effects of Secondhand Smoke Exposure (You will need to download the free Flash Player from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/) Fact Sheets * Secondhand Smoke

Too many kids breathe others' smoke in cars: CDC

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

In the first national estimate of its kind, a report from government researchers says more than 1 in 5 high school students and middle schoolers ride in cars while others are smoking. This kind of secondhand smoke exposure has been linked with breathing problems and allergy symptoms, and more restrictions are needed to prevent it, the report says. With widespread crackdowns on smoking in public, private places -- including homes and cars -- are where people encounter secondhand smoke these days. Anti-smoking advocates have zeroed in on cars because of research showing they're potentially more dangerous than smoke-filled bars and other less confined areas. The research, from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Smoking & Tobacco Use

tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Make 2012 Your Year to Quit Smoking It is the most important New Year's resolution you may ever make. Many smokers use the New Year's holiday as motivation to quit. In an effort to reach smokers and to help tobacco control programs and organizations reach smokers, CDC has developed resources that tap into the tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions to encourage smokers to quit. Resources for Tobacco Prevention and Control The following products and resources are available to help encourage smokers in your community to quit now.

Anti-Smoking Campaigns Work, So Don't Quit Now: As Funding for Anti-Tobacco Ads Dropped, So Did the Number of Smokers Kicking the Habit. Can a New Round of Ads Reverse Course?

matt.creamer@gmail.com (Matt Creamer) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Get ready for a barrage of ads that will come at you with a singularly mind-blowing message: Smoking is bad for you. Not just bad for you. Really bad for you. It's a fact that should be obvious to any sentient being, yet within the next year or so, not one but two federal agencies, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration, will be newly pounding the nation's airwaves with anti-smoking ads -- as if it were a sure thing that you needed them. To be a smoker in 2012 is not only to ignore the biological reality that the habit will knock years off your life but also shrug off the cultural stigmas -- the dwindling number of smoke-friendly public places, the dirty looks -- and the fact that heavily-taxed smokes are priced at a point only a one-percenter could easily afford. . . . If we've seen a "denormalization of smoking," as the CDC describes it, do we need to drop hundreds of millions of dollars on a familiar message during cash-strapped times? If all those appeals to the brain, wallet and pride don't work, how will a bunch of ads? As it turns out, anti-smoking ads actually do work. There's plenty of academic research proving it. And there's circumstantial, but no less compelling, evidence that in the absence of advertisements, smoking rates don't go down as quickly as they would without the nagging. And that entails its own costs. . . . But there's no doubt that the leveling off of the smoking rate has occurred at a time when many states, amid deep cuts to tobacco-prevention budgets, are spending next to nothing on ads and have been getting little air cover from the national level. This is bad news when you consider how effective those ads have been. Research scientists have been studying the impact of anti-smoking ad campaigns for decades, even before the "Truth" campaign launched in 2000, when the job was mainly the province of individual states. Many have found what Sherry Emery, a health economist who has studied the impact of media campaigns at the state level, has. Ms. Emery said that analyses of youth and adult reaction "showed that higher levels of exposure to the state media campaigns were associated with less smoking and more anti-smoking attitudes and beliefs."

Make 2012 Your Year to Quit Smoking

tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

It is the most important New Year's resolution you may ever make. Many smokers use the New Year's holiday as motivation to quit. In an effort to reach smokers and to help tobacco control programs and organizations reach smokers, CDC has developed resources that tap into the tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions to encourage smokers to quit. Resources for Tobacco Prevention and Control The following products and resources are available to help encourage smokers in your community to quit now.