The Truth About Tobacco

There is a lot of buzz these days about “Wellness” or “Health Promotion” in America. People want to be healthier, and we often focus on healthy eating and exercise when the subject of wellness comes up.

While nutrition and fitness are two very important pieces of this puzzle, there are many other things that people can do to be “well” and to ultimately live a longer, more productive life.

Making the decision to stop using tobacco products is one of the most important things that a person can do to change their lifestyle for the better.

Even though we know that smoking is not healthy, many people continue to smoke or use other tobacco products.

It is hard to quit, nicotine is extremely addictive. However, in order to promote wellness, the avoidance of smoking and tobacco use needs to be encouraged and supported. An individual’s decision to quit smoking will not only benefit that person’s health dramatically, but also the health of everyone around them by reducing the amount of secondhand smoke in the environment, which is hazardous to everyone’s health.

Alarming Stats

It’s hard to ignore the growing list of alarming statistics related to tobacco use. According to research information posted on www.thetruth.com, about 440,000 people die a tobacco-related death every year in the United States.

Tobacco also kills more Americans than auto accidents, homicide, AIDS, drugs, and fires combined.

Statistics show cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the U.S., and by the year 2020, tobacco is projected to kill about 10 million people a year worldwide.

Quitting

Roseau Area Hospital & Homes endorses QuitPlan, a tobacco cessation program. Professional cessation counselor Sandra Peterson meets at the Sallberg Dental Office in Roseau every Tuesday. As part of the program, participants receive:

• A personal plan to stop tobacco use
• Detailed information about Zyban and nicotine replacement therapy
• Tools to help learn how to quit
• Group led support by a trained professional
• Connection to additional resources, such as self-help material, community resources, www.quitplan.com and the QUITPLAN Helpline.

To contact Sandra, call (218) 683-4522 or email her at quitplan@nwmc.org

Why not START today?

Dawn Hedlund, R.D., L.D. is the Wellness Coordinator at Roseau Area Hospital and Homes Inc. In addition to organizing and overseeing health-related events and educations activities in Roseau County, Dawn will be an ongoing contributor to HealthMatters. Each issue, she will focus on a topic involving better health. To learn more about improved health and wellness, call her at (218) 463-2500.