3 reasons to care about tobacco prevention

If you’re not a current tobacco user, you may wonder why you should care about tobacco prevention, or why we continue to share updates and information about the topic. It’s true most people involved with tobacco prevention efforts don’t use tobacco, but whether you are a tobacco user or not, this issue effects us all. Here are three reasons why you should care.

1-Your life, your pocketbook

Sadly, there are more than 6,000 smoking-related deaths in Minnesota each year. In fact one in five deaths is due to tobacco use. This results in $3.19 billion dollars in annual excess health care costs in Minnesota each year caused by smoking.

2-Targeting kids

The use of e-cigarettes, which target kids, has been declared an epidemic by the U.S. Surgeon General. This has led to an increase in youth tobacco use, which is largely due to companies marketing candy-flavored tobacco, which kids often vape using small devices that are masked to look like pens or other common devices.

3-Harm by association

The harmful effects of using tobacco are well known, but even if you don’t use tobacco directly, you can still be harmed. Second-hand smoke contains more than 700 chemicals, including nearly 70 that cause cancer. In Minnesota, almost 50% of adults report being exposed to second hand smoke in the past week. And more than 40% of children who visit the emergency room for asthma, live with smokers.

Connect with us today and learn how you can get involved in updating our local tobacco ordinances to help reduce tobacco’s harm in our communities.