Tobacco Documents Online

I I I I I I I I 1 i I " :. • , ~ v tj ~`r ASHT~.NAV`! CCUNTY ..LTn ~` ?AR1'M cNT 4701 .Jasncenaw acaa P.C. 3oa 9E~5 .;rn ar~or. ... n qan s3t07 OIaEZ'2 a .O/'r• '3. ?LNa:@r . D. ,;r. P M. cc'~...cber 3, 1980 Sunny Fong, Chief Office of Health Education tlichican DeT~nt of Public Eealth 350o horth Logan Street P.O. 30035 LansiZ g, Michigan 48909 FE: SmOking and Health - Attention Public hearing calling the Gove_-nor's Citizens Panel Dear Simny : Sr'r:lcing, acoordizg _ to the 1979 Surqeon General' s ReDort on Health Pramcticn and Disease Prevention, is the larcest single preventable cause of illness and premature death. C.igarette sm.kers have a 70% greater rate of death frcm all causes than non- smkers. g*nki.g is the leading cause of lung cancer; the chance of a sinker developing lung cancer is lox greater than that of a r.on-sroker. Smcking is an i-7portant factor in death frncn heart disease, is the chief cause of c.'~xnnic bzr;nchitis, cOntributes to merbidity fran egphysema and has been related to increased sic'a-ess and absenteeism. Besides the direct effects on the snnker's own personal health, smcking also affects others, incltxiing the unborn fetus. 9mking mothPxs have babies with a higher in- cidence of prematurity, small stature, lower I.4., greater inciCence of respiratory i.llr%--ss, and respiratory death in the first year of life. And 27% of girls betsreen t~e ages of 13 and 17 - of child bearing age - now snoke as carvared to 22% 10 years agv. 40 $ of tt^.ese f emales szrJke 1 pack per day, whe_*eas only 10 $ smcked this nnych 10 years ago. Izrpressicnab.le children see parents, older siblings, and other admi-red adults smeke, and i.-nita},.e tt,.e*n because "srcking makes me look gncrAn-up. " Or.e of 20 5th graders s:nkes , while by 7th grade, 1 of 5 snokes . The rate increases by high school to in- clude 1 of 3 teenacess. Non-smcke_-s are also adversely affected by sroking. Several hazardous c'ie:.nical can- actmds are found in tcbacco and released when tobacco bu...*s. Tobacco &Tcke enters the at:rms:a^.e.re_e f~n 2 sour~+s : the bu=uuig end of the cigarette/cigar/pipe and the s:,nke i*z~,-iled and t'^.en exnaled by the smak.er h:..~rself. St,:dies have shown that the s:mke -156- ~

I Ccn't 2 frcm the burning end, sidestream ~cke, has Iiict:er ccnce.^tr3ticns of r.oxict:s ca-,xunc's than t~e mainstream smoke inhaled bv the s:noker! Because of the adverse effects of smcking on all rie-Ti~ers of the local pcoulaticn, s:nokers and non-sinokers, children and adults ali}:e, t' :e washtenaw Countv !:ea' th Depart-ent stTports the proposal to increase health educaticn efforts in schools and hospitaLs so that the decision to s:ricke or not smoke can be made intelligently with full uidezstar.ding of the hazards involved. Because educaticnal prograazs have enjc only 1im:ted success in the past, this N.ealth Department also str=.~ports the use of iinancia.l incentives to c:iseourage people fr= =Ici.r.g. Possible aw ..errr.^ts include increasing cigarette taxes and offering insurance advantages to non-ssnkers. Of ncte is the American Cancer Society' s"n^.e Great American Sneke-Out," a one-day program encouraging a day's respite :zom smcking. Our cepartment cxnsiders this a project wt>rthy of our own and the general public's support and participation. In sLammsy, c.e strongly sta.~port, in the interest of general heah th and crell-being, the control of public exposure to the pzcarotion, sale and smcJciu:g of cigarettes and other tabacoo products. I I I I J I I I L -157-