The editor:
“We believe that the conclusions of public health officials concerning environmental tobacco smoke are sufficient to warrant measures that regulate cigarette smoking in public places.”
Who said that? Was it the surgeon general? Some militant anti-tobacco group? No, the above quote came from the Phillip Morris tobacco company website. It is surprising to me, that 10 years after the cigarette makers stopped defending secondhand smoke, misinformed people still believe their old propaganda.
For many years, doctors have known that secondhand smoke is linked to higher rates of lung cancer, respiratory infections, ear infections, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In response to these known health effects of second hand smoke, the city of Morehead wisely banned indoor smoking in August 2006. On Jan. 2, 2009, the CDC reported a new study from Pueblo, Colorado showing that rates of heart attacks dropped 41% after the city implemented an indoor smoking ban. The dangers of secondhand smoke are even worse than we imagined.
Now hospitals are going further. St. Claire Regional Medical Center and other facilities in the state have decided to ban tobacco products on their grounds. This is not about protecting nonsmokers from outdoor smoke. It is about sending a consistent message to our community that hospitals are devoted to protecting your health, not just taking your money when you’re sick.
Doctors do not expect people to live forever. But being a doctor means you do not want anyone to die unnecessarily, especially from a horrific disease such as lung cancer. Kentuckians have the highest rates the smoking in the nation, and we are paying a heavy price for our addiction, with the nation’s highest lung cancer rates, and shortest life expectancy.
With the highest rates of youth smoking in the nation, Kentucky is preparing another generation to repeat the mistakes of their fathers. This is not a time for complacency but rather a time for action. The actions of St. Claire Regional Medical Center and other healthcare facilities in banning cigarettes from their property are long overdue, and are an important step in changing the way we view cigarette smoking.
Anthony D. Weaver, M.D.
Morehead
