Tobacco & Other Risk Factors

Tobacco and Other Risk Factors

The fact that most lung cancers are preventable is a widely accepted fact. The tragic statistic that support it comes from the American Lung Association—87% of all lung cancers are caused by smoking. In Delaware, we have implemented programs to help everyone understand the immense toll smoking can take on the health of individuals who smoke or are exposed to smoke. We have initiated cessation programs. We’ve worked to pass landmark legislation—the Clean Indoor Air Act. We’ve worked directly with schools and community organizations to encourage adults and kids to never start smoking. We’ve asked doctors to urge their patients to stop using tobacco. We also offer medications—such as nicotine patches and gum—to individuals to help them quit.

The results are encouraging:

• 21% of public high school students say they smoked cigarettes during the past month—down from 35% in 1997.
• 55.5% of smokers tried to quit smoking for at least a day or more during the past year.
• 70.2% of adult smokers reported that their doctor or health care provider advised them to quit smoking in the past year.
• Only one in every five Delawareans smokes.

But there is still more to do:

• Our tobacco excise tax must be increased so that it is at least comparable to that of neighboring states.
• Employers must be encouraged to fund programs to help people stop using tobacco and to become partners in existing programs that have been successful.
• Educating adults about the damaging effects of secondhand smoke on those least able to control their environment—children under the age of 18—could make a significant impact.
• Other factors that affect cancer such as obesity—shown in a recent report* to cause 14% of the deaths from cancer in men and 20% of deaths in women, particularly in cancers of the colon, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium (the lining of the uterus), kidney, esophagus, gallbladder, ovaries and pancreas—must become another priority in both education and program implementation.

Smoking in Delaware has reached the lowest prevalence since data collection was begun.

Data from the 2005 Delaware BRFSS show about one of every five Delaware adults (20.7%)now smokes cigarettes—down from a fourth of the population during most of the past decade.
Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, Delaware Division of Public Health, 2005

Youth smoking prevalence is at the lowest level13.8% lower than it was five years ago.

Smoking among Delaware youth continues to decline. In fact, only about 21% of Delaware public high school students say they smoked cigarettes during the past month, down dramatically from 35%in 1997.
Source: Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Delaware Department of Education, 2005

Click each goal to read about the objectives, tasks and timeframes.