CLEAN AIR WAVES

 Editor - Corey Wakeley

November 19th              Great American Smoke Out

For more information about up coming events visit our website at: www.tobacco-free.net

Local Youth Pass Along the Anti-Tobacco Message

By Melanie Norris -Tobacco Prevention Coordinator

On Thursday November 19^th youth all around Benton and Franklin Counties will be sharing tobacco facts and participating in activities to spread the anti tobacco message to their friends and  peers. The Great American Smoke Out, a national campaign sponsored by the American Cancer Society, encourages people to quit smoking. Locally the youth call this day SHOUT Out No Tobacco day and SHOUT (students helping others understand tobacco) members will be hard at work promoting their anti-tobacco messages.

Richland High School youth will be putting up posters with tobacco facts around their school, reading tobacco facts on the daily announcements and they will also hold a lunch time activity where students can spin the wheel to answer tobacco related questions and win a prize. RHS SHOUT students will also promote the fact that “every 8 seconds someone in the world dies due to tobacco related illness” with an awareness activity during the week of SHOUT Out No Tobacco.

Kennewick High SHOUT students will be increasing the awareness of the dangers of tobacco use during the week of SHOUT Out No Tobacco by creating body outlines throughout the school building with each body representing a certain number of people who will die during that week from a tobacco related illness. Kennewick High SHOUT will also promote the National campaign by participating in an activity where increasing numbers are posted daily of people who will die from a tobacco related illness.

Students in Benton and Franklin Counties are enthusiastic about their participation in SHOUT Out No Tobacco activities and the anti-tobacco promotions they have planned for the week.

For more information contact Melanie Norris at melanie@tobacco-free.net

A Big Thank You!

Compliance of the Youth Access to Tobacco Law has been at 100% during the past 6 months in Benton and Franklin Counties. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the tobacco retailers in the area for doing such a great job!

For more information contact Corey Wakeley at corey@tobacco-free.net

Health Care Crisis:  Tobacco Prevention and Control a Money Saving Solution

By Amy Ward - Executive Director

Washington State statistics taken from the Washington State Department of Health Tobacco Program's 2009 Progress Report:

• Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death
• 800,000 adults and 45 kids start smoking EVERY DAY
• 7,600 died last year from tobacco related illness
• 500 children get asthma from secondhand smoke every year
• $1.5 Billion spent on health care services
• Workers that use tobacco lost $1.6 billion in productivity costs
• State DOH Tobacco Prevention and Control Program cost $28.5 million annually
• Tobacco Industry spends $165 million each year on advertising
• Since the program in 1999 – 2008 smoking decreased 30%; from 22.4% to 15.3 %
• State went from 20^th in tobacco use to 6^th
• 235,000 less people smoking in the state since the 1999
• Savings in health care costs since 1999 $2 billion dollars

For more information contact Amy Ward at amy@tobacco-free.net