skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical copays reduce health care access in MS prisons; Israel planted explosives in pagers sold to Hezbollah according to official sources; Serving looks with books: Libraries fight 'fast fashion' by lending clothes; Menhaden decline threatens Virginia's ecosystem, fisheries.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

JD Vance calls for toning down political rhetoric, while calls for his resignation grow because of his own comments. The Secret Service again faces intense criticism, and a right to IVF is again voted down in the US Senate.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Progress But Concern Over Tobacco Use in Wisconsin

play audio
Play

Monday, May 16, 2016   

BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Smoking and tobacco use still are the top causes of preventable disease and death, and each year 6,700 Wisconsinites die from tobacco use, according to the American Lung Association in Wisconsin.

This is National Prevention Week, and today is Prevention of Tobacco Use Day.

Michelle Mercure, director of Tobacco Control and Lung Health for the American Lung Association in Wisconsin, says the theme this year for Prevention Week is "strong as one, stronger together."

She says with tobacco use, prevention is paramount.

"And so we want folks to recognize and understand that if they are smoking or using tobacco that there is help for them,” she states. “Prevention is key. If we can prevent our youth from even starting and experimenting, then we're going to be that much further ahead."

Mercure says the quickest, least invasive and least expensive way to treat disease is to prevent it from occurring, and that every dollar spent in tobacco prevention saves $3 in health care costs.

There are free resources to help people who want to quit using tobacco. The Wisconsin Tobacco Quitline is 1-800-QuitNow, and the American Lung Association Helpline is 1-800-LungUSA.

While there have been significant decreases in both cigarette smoking and youth smoking rates, the use of other tobacco products is dramatically on the rise. But Mercure says in perspective, there has been progress.

"Back in 1999, which is really when our Wisconsin tobacco efforts really began, we were at a smoking rate of about 39 percent for our high school youth, and now today we're at about 11 percent, so we have made a lot of progress,” she says. “But there's still a lot of concerns around tobacco use that we need to address."

The American Lung Association in Wisconsin says the recent Food and Drug Administration action to regulate e-cigarettes and other tobacco products is a good first step, but more action is needed on the state and local level.

Mercure is concerned about the future of young people who may experiment with something they think is not harmful to them, but much more research needs to be done.

"I think we will come to find that e-cigarettes, just like the traditional cigarettes, are full of health effects and concerning,” she states. “So, (I'm) really concerned about those youth who are starting, so we need to really make sure that we are addressing those prevention efforts with our youth."

The federal regulations still do not address the topic of flavorings in tobacco products, and flavors are what appeal to young people and get them on the road to lifetime tobacco use.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
Including the $236 million in federal funding for wildland fire management recently announced for 2025, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has invested a total of $1 billion to the cause, according to the Department of the Interior. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

This month, the federal government announced funding for next year's wildfire management, totaling $236 million and experts hope threatened …


Social Issues

play sound

From gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson to Superintendent of Public Instruction hopeful Michele Morrow, some Republicans running for office have …

Social Issues

play sound

California is home to more than 181,000 people who are unhoused, with 75,000 in Los Angeles alone, so the Los Angeles Food Policy Council will host a …


The California Department of Conservation is holding a public meeting online on Sept. 24, to update the public on its progress in plugging abandoned oil wells. (Alizada Studios/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Groups concerned about pollution and climate change are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a trio of bills dubbed the "make polluters pay" package…

Social Issues

play sound

This week, National Voter Registration Day was another timely reminder for Ohioans preparing for the 2024 general election. The latest reports from …

Menhaden are forage fish species and filter feeders, each capable of filtering up to seven gallons of water per minute. (Photo of female Osprey with Menhaden/TRCP)

Environment

play sound

In Virginia's waters, the decline of a small but critically important fish is causing growing concern among conservation groups and fishermen alike…

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado voters will decide whether to change the state's constitution to ensure families have school choice as a fundamental right. Kallie Leyba…

Environment

play sound

By Claire Elise Thompson for Grist.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for New Hampshire News Connection reporting for the Grist-Public News Service C…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021