Big Tobacco is a term often applied to the tobacco industry in general. Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company are the 2 leading cigarette manufacturers in the US.
US FDA reported March 30 that U.S. health regulators said that tobacco companies must report how much formaldehyde, nicotine or any of 18 other harmful chemicals are in their products.
About 3 million American high school students and more than 45 million adults smoke cigarettes. Some 8 million Americans have smoking-related illnesses and as many as 443,000 Americans die each year from smoking-related causes such as lung cancer. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the US.
The member states of the World Health Organization created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 and is observed around the world every year on May 31.
Established in 1983, No Smoking Day works to support smokers who want to quit, and takes place the 2nd Wednesday of every March. Unfortunately this years No Smoking Day, March 14th, came around without much publicity.
But, the Center for Disease Control launched a $54 million, 12 week Quit Smoking ad campaign on March 19th that has caused a lot of media attention. The commercials being shown are very graphic, with a stroke patient named Suzy, being bathed in her hospital bed. A man that has had a tracheotomy due to smoking, with a hole in his throat, while he is shaving. Terrie, who is a bald, toothless 51-year-old woman and has a raspy voice from smoking also has a hole in her throat. The commercials have had a big impact on smokers. Calls to a quit smoking hotline doubled the first week of the campaign.
In BET News, a commentary, Not So Kool, said that although black Americans smoke less than Caucasians, they are more likely to die of lung cancer. Eight million black Americans now smoke tobacco due to direct targeting by Big Tobacco.
A campaign called "No Thanks Big Tobacco",has found sample resolutions and policies that organizations, events, venues and businesses can adopt to not accept any funding or charitable donations from the tobacco industry.
The Atria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, told ABC News that the company agrees smoking is addictive and causes serious disease and, for those who want to avoid the health effects of smoking, the best thing to do is to quit.
If you need help to quit smoking, go to SmokeFree .gov. They have a step by step quit guide, you can talk to an expert and find the tools you will need to quit.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank for reading my blog, please leave a comment