Stamp Out Smoking Sponsors Through With Chew Week - February 15th, 2010
Arkansas has the third highest percentage of adults who use smokeless tobacco, falling only behind Wyoming and West Virginia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation System. Stamp Out Smoking is joining state and national tobacco control partners to celebrate Through With Chew Week February 14 – 20 in hopes of decreasing the number of Arkansans who use smokeless tobacco.
Through With Chew Week was established in 1989 by the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Inc. as an educational campaign to raise awareness of the dangerous health effects of smokeless tobacco use. During Through With Chew Week, one day is set aside as the Great American Spit Out to encourage tobacco users to quit for a day in hopes that they will quit for good. This year, the Great American Spit Out will take place on Thursday, February, 18.
“Education and awareness campaigns are important to ensure Arkansans make informed choices about their health,” said Dr. Carolyn Dresler, program director of the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program. “Our hope is that tobacco users will put into action the information they learn during Through With Chew Week and give up their habit for good on the Great American Spit Out.”
Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarettes. It has a number of long- and short-term effects including oral cancer, receding gums, high blood pressure and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Among other harmful chemicals, smokeless tobacco contains cyanide, arsenic, lead, formaldehyde and cadmiun, which is a car battery acid.
According to the 2008 Arkansas Prevention Needs Assessment Student Survey, the counties with the highest percentage of youth who used smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days are Calhoun at 19.8 percent, Jackson at 17.3 percent and Johnson at 15.5 percent. However, overall smokeless tobacco use among Arkansas high school boys has declined from 21.2 percent in 2000 to 17.8 percent in 2007. Despite progress made among Arkansas youth, smokeless tobacco use among Arkansas adults has climbed from 10.1 percent in 2000 to 13.8 percent in 2008.
New products have been developed, such as dissolvable strips and pouches of tobacco, which are more discreet than spit tobacco, to adapt to a growing number of smoke-free policies. No matter what form it comes in, all tobacco is dangerous and addictive. For help quitting, call the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW for free motivational counseling and medications, such as patches or lozenges, while supplies last.
Stamp Out Smoking is the media and public relations campaign of the Arkansas Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program. The Arkansas Tobacco Quitline is managed by TPCP and operated by Free & Clear, Inc., a company providing evidence-based tobacco cessation services to more than 25 states in the country. For more information, visit stampoutsmoking.com or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW to quit tobacco.
