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Health experts want Oklahomans' tobacco use cut

 
SUSAN SIMPSON | Published: July 8, 2009    Comment on this article Leave a comment

A new state plan asks Oklahomans to help reduce a leading cause of death by cutting tobacco use rates to below the national average by 2012.

About one in four Oklahoma adults (24.7 percent) now use tobacco products, compared to about one in five nationally. While Oklahoma has lowered its tobacco use rate in recent years — it was 28.7 percent in 2001 — health officials said more must be done to save lives and improve the health of Oklahomans, especially those exposed to secondhand smoke.

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According to health officials, smoking causes:
→82 percent of lung cancer cases

→80 percent of deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

→17 percent of deaths from heart disease

→11 percent of deaths from stroke

Lowering the state’s tobacco use rate to the national average of 19.7 percent would result in 200,000 fewer adult and youth users in the state, according to the plan by the state Health Department’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Advisory Committee. The committee is led by state Health Commissioner Terry Cline.

"Almost every Oklahoman has had loved ones die from tobacco use,” Cline said. "Because tobacco use affects all of us in some way, everyone has a role to play in reaching the ambitious goal of this new state plan.”

The committee urges Oklahoma to make their homes and cars tobacco-free, to refuse tobacco-industry sponsorships, and to urge elected leaders to support laws that prohibit smoking in public places and workplaces.

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Related Topics: Health and Fitness, Domestic Policy, Social Policy, Political Policy, Politics, Public Health Policy, Health Care Issues, Smoking and Tobacco Use, Government and Politics



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