Missouri's Tobacco Control Exchange

HealthDay: How to Create a Smoke-Free Home

HealthDay from U.S. News and World Report offers some excellent tips on creating a smoke-free - and kid-friendly - home. These tips come from the American Academy of Pediatrics and are just in time for the holiday season:

• Always smoke outdoors.
• Create a designated, comfortable area outside where you and visitors smoke.
• Wear a particular jacket or shirt only when you smoke, removing it when you're finished. This will help avoid bringing smoke into your home on your clothing.
• Place an umbrella next to the door so you aren't tempted to smoke indoors when it rains.

 

In Missouri, Rural Males Inhale Most Secondhand Smoke

A Missouri Foundation for Health study shows that rural Missouri men are exposed to more secondhand smoke than their urban counterparts.

The study also shows that Missourians overall are exposed to more secondhand smoke than people nationwide.

Here are the details from St. Louis Public Radio:

A 2007 telephone survey funded by the Missouri Foundation for Health looked at the tobacco use, health, and demographics of close to 24,000 indoor Missouri workers.  About 12 percent were exposed to secondhand smoke, compared to about 7 percent of workers nationwide.

Washington University public health researcher and study lead Jenine Harris says some Missouri workers are even more at risk.

"We found that younger folks, men, people living in isolated or rural areas, lower income folks, people with less education, were all more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke," Harris said.

 

Mark the Date: Tobacco-Free Missouri's Holiday Luncheon Offers Education, Networking Opportunities

Tobacco-Free Missouri has scheduled it's holiday luncheon for Tuesday, Dec. 6 beginning at noon. 

This year's event will be held at Soulard Restaurant, 1731 S.7th St., in St. Louis. The meeting will be packed with education, networking opportunities, and great food at a discounted price.  Watch your e-mail for more information. This meeting is open to the public, but reservations are required.

For more details, visit http://tobaccofreemo.org/ or call 314-977-8104
 

UMSL Offers Smoke-Free Help

The University of Missouri-St. Louis is completely smoke-free.

It isn't easy for smokers to either change their puffing habits, or to quit all together. That is why the university is offering quit help. Free.

Read about the program here: http://blogs.umsl.edu/news/2011/10/20/no-smoking/

The Jury Is Out on Tobacco Case

A St. Louis jury is trying to decide if Missouri smokers deserve a $700 million settlement from Philip Morris.

The case went to the jury on Monday, UPI reports.

The case involves claims about light cigarettes. Some say those ads were deceptive, making smokers believe they were safer.

Webinar: What if Americans Stopped Smoking?

An insightful webinar will discuss what America would be like without the taint of cigarette smoke.

The Wednesday webinar is hosted by The Legacy Foundation. Here are the details:

To coincide with a new book recently released by Columbia University Press titled, After Tobacco: What Would Happen if Americans Stopped Smoking?, public health experts will discuss what the nation might look like if and when smoking rates plummet to historic lows. Our panel of experts will consider the social and economic impact of reducing smoking rates and what it will take to reach current national public health goals.

WHY: Over the last ten years, policymakers and public health advocates have taken great - and sometimes controversial - measures to help fight the tobacco epidemic that kills more than 400,000 people every year in the United States. Higher cigarette taxes, expanded clean air laws, smoking cessation and prevention campaigns and programs, new federal regulatory authority over tobacco as well as reduced harm products have potential consequences and benefits for all Americans. Until recently, no study has responded to these concerns by capturing the impact of tobacco control across the nation.

WHO:

* Dr. Nora D. Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse

* Dr. Jed E. Rose, Duke Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research, Duke University Medical Center . . .

The panel will be available via webcast at www.legacyforhealth.org or www.visualwebcaster.com/event.asp?id=82819 starting at 12:25 p.m. prior to program start.