TOBACCO USE
PREVENTION
Grade: C+
Issue Statement:
- Tobacco is the one legal product that kills at least
one-third of those who use it, resulting in over 420,000 deaths per year in
the United States alone. Still, over 3,000 kids begin smoking daily.
According to the October, 1999 Missouri Department of Health survey of
Missouri middle school students, 51 % of middle school students have used
some form of tobacco, and 38% of Missouri high school juniors have smoked
one or more cigarettes in the 30 days prior to the survey.
- The number of Boone County retailers willing to sell to
minors on any given day remains at about 25% according to surveillance buys
conducted in 1999.
- Only 10% percent of Boone County's restaurants are
entirely smoke-free.
- Adults are allowed to smoke on or near public school
property during sporting and other school events.
- Recently, states and the private sector have begun to
explore tobacco use from a cost-to-taxpayers perspective and as an issue of
involuntary exposure to dangerous secondhand smoke. Linked to these issues
is that of socially acceptable "adult" behavior. [When children
grow up seeing tobacco use as the norm, and even modeled publicly as "what
adults do", they may be more likely to smoke. To break the social cycle
of tobacco use, increased tobacco taxes, licensing of tobacco retailers and
an increase in smoke-free public places are all strategies that work.
Goal:
The goal of the Boone County Health Report Card tobacco
use control team is to reduce the number of Boone County teens who begin to
smoke.
Strategies:
- Reduce the number of retailers who illegally sell
tobacco products to minors.
- Increase the number of restaurants and other public
places that are entirely smoke-free.
- Educate community members about the need for licensing
of retailers and a local tax on tobacco products.
Progress Statements:
- We have made progress with the initiation of the
Breathe Easy Boone County project and the publication of the Breathe Easy
Boone Guide to Smoke-Free Dining and Entertainment. The Breathe Easy
campaign focuses attention on the non-smokers' right to "Insist on
Smoke-Free" dining and entertainment options, and on the negative
health impacts of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Contact:
Sharon Feltman, Breathe Easy Boone County, 882-3501.
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Last Revised: 07 April 2000