close, bUt no cigar cdc report reveals strides and setbacks with limiting statewide tobacco Use
When it comes to reducing tobacco use, the Tar Heel state hasn’t quite kicked the habit, according to a January report released by the Centers for Disease Control. Going by the CDC’s Tobacco Control State Highlights, 21.8 percent of adults in North Carolina smoke. The national number is 19 percent. However, when it comes to the number of high school students who smoke, North Carolina made some strides: 17.7 percent of high school students in North Carolina smoke. Buncombe County Health Director Gibbie Harris says, “Youth smoking rates in North Carolina are now below the national average, thanks to the state’s teen tobacco-prevention program that was [supported] by the Health and Wellness Trust Fund during the past decade.” She cautions, “Community-based programs are one key factor in the success of reducing teen tobacco use in N.C. Since the funding was cut in North Carolina in 2010, these tobacco use rates are likely to increase.”
In other promising news, since the passage of the statewide Smoke-Free Restaurants and Bars Law went into effect January 2010, heart-attack rates have decreased 21 percent. This decline represents nearly $5 million in health-care cost savings, the CDC study estimates. Secondhand smoke is a known trigger for other health conditions like asthma, stroke and chest pain, and is a major risk factor for lung cancer, the state’s leading cancer killer. “Even after significant progress in reducing tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure in the last decade, much more work needs to be done to end the tobacco use epidemic,” says Tim McAfee, director of the Office on Smoking and Health. “There is excellent research that clearly identifies what needs to be done to eliminate tobacco use. States can accelerate their efforts to save lives and reduce tobacco-related health care costs.” — Buncombe County Health Department
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