Approximately one-third of Rhode Islanders remain addicted to tobacco. There has been a modest drop in adult smokers, but there has been an increase in the number of high school graduates who smoke. You have to come from the other side of the moon not to have heard about all the serious afflictions resulting from continued tobacco use. It is impossible not to have seen some very graphic (and unpleasant) television messages concerning the health hazards from smoking. Information has also been presented about the hazards of secondhand smoke on children in households where smoking occurs. There has been an increase in the number and severity of asthmatics in smoking households; there is an increase in the number of ear infections in children whose parents smoke around them; and there is also some data that sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) more frequently occurs in households of smokers. Smokers have heard about their increased risks of strokes, heart disease, and, surely, fatal lung cancer and emphysema.

If everyone has already heard these ominous messages and seen the graphic and gruesome presentations on television and still continue to enjoy their addiction without seeking assistance in cessation programs, should one assume that nothing can work to help them? Actually, the experience in Massachusetts and in California have demonstrated that an increase in the price of cigarettes translates into a decrease in the number of smokers. Increased costs of tobacco may have the greatest effect upon young smokers. In both California and Massachusetts, there has been a recent decrease in young smokers while in the rest of the country there continues to be an increase in tobacco use by youth. Secondly, the revenue from the increase in the cost of cigarettes has been used in these states to establish tobacco control programs at the community and school levels.

Rhode Island is the home of two of the most respected tobacco cessation programs in the country. Dr. James Prochaska at the University of Rhode Island is recognized internationally for his groundbreaking tobacco cessation programs. Dr. David Abrams at the Miriam Hospital/Brown University is a national leader in tobacco control programs. Dr. Patricia Nolan, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, has provided leadership, both locally and nationally, in developing tobacco control programs. We have the talent and access to the resources for effective tobacco control and with a little help from the Legislature this year, Rhode Island can achieve considerable gain in the war against tobacco. The tobacco settlement money has started to come into the State. In year 2000 Rhode Island was scheduled to receive over $46 million. The State Legislature appropriated $2.3 million for the year 2001 for tobacco prevention and cessation programs and added $3.4 million for long-term care for the elderly. Rhode Island ranks 31st in the nation in using funds from tobacco settlement for tobacco related programs. We must do considerably better than that. In the long run, breaking the tobacco addiction epidemic in Rhode Island will save millions in health care dollars and a great deal of pain and suffering, as well as untimely deaths.

For more information and answers to specific questions contact the Rhode Island Cancer Council at info@ricancercouncil.org or call us at (401) 728-4800 or toll free 866-879-4100.

IT IS EASIER TO PREVENT CANCER THAN TO TREAT IT.

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