County health department encourages smokers to quit during Great American Smokeout
Published 11:42 am Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department wants smokers in Pierce County to go smoke free during the American Cancer Society’s 37th Great American Smokeout Nov. 15.
“Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States,” said Anthony L-T Chen, MD, MPH, Director of Health. “Quitting smoking is a critical step people can take to dramatically improve personal health, reduce cancer risk, and enhance life expectancy for themselves and those around them,” he said in a press release.
Each year, 443,000 deaths are attributable to tobacco use. In Pierce County, 956 deaths or 16.3 percent of all deaths in the County in 2008 were tobacco-related deaths, according to Centers for Disease Control data sources.
To help combat Pierce County’s smoking problem, the health department works to advance the Great American Smokeout every day through programs such as smoke-free housing, which connects renters with smoke-free properties; enforcing Washington’s ban on smoking in public places, including hookah lounges; tobacco cessation resources; and other important health promotion activities.
To learn more about the health department’s tobacco prevention and control programs, visit www.tpchd.org/smokefree. or contact Samantha Yeun at (253) 798-2931 or syeun@tpchd.org.
