Stamp Out Smoking

There is good news about smoking in Maine. Youth smoking rates have been cut in half and adult tobacco consumption has also declined sharply since 1997. That means that 22,000 fewer children are smoking now than six years ago, saving lives and $74 million in medical costs and lost productivity.

But the news is not all good. Every day in Maine seven people die from tobacco use, one of them being a non-smoker exposed to secondhand smoke. Each year, 3,800 kids become new smokers and each of the state’s households pays $576 in state and federal taxes to cover smoking-related government expenses, primarily health care.

That is why the American Cancer Society is holding its 26th annual Great American Smokeout today. The goal is to get smokers to quit for a day, maybe forever. One way to do that is to share the scary statistics: 21,000 adults die each year in Maine from smoking; 33,000 Maine children will die prematurely due to smoking; smoking-related health care costs are $545 million a year in Maine.

Another way to encourage people to give up tobacco is to offer assistance. As part of today’s events, many companies will remind employees of their, mostly underutilized, cessation benefits. Hospitals and university and community college campuses will hand out literature and encourage people to sign cards pledging not to light up for 24 hours.

In Portland, the Healthy Maine Partnerships, the groups funded by tobacco settlement money, will unveil new ads aimed at further reducing smoking rates. They will also remind Mainers that help quitting smoking is available through a toll-free phone call (1-800-207-1230). Talking to a trained counselor, those who want to quit can develop a personal plan, which will be followed up by additional phone calls and written materials. Last year, 4,700 people called the Maine Tobacco Help Line and nearly a quarter of them were not smoking six months later. That’s three times higher than the quit rate for people who try on their own. Through the help line, qualified callers can also receive vouchers for free nicotine replacement therapy and other cessation aids.

According to the state’s chief health officer, Dora Anne Mills, the average smoker tries seven times before quitting smoking for good. So, the message this year, Dr. Mills says: “Don’t quit quitting.”