CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Get serious: Snuff out smoking for good

News Enterprise - 11/16/2017

Smoking and tobacco use are major public health issues we cannot continue to accept and ignore.

Every leader at Hardin Memorial Health, with me perhaps the most passionate, could not be more adamant about keeping people safe from the devastating effects of smoking and tobacco use.

Cigarette smoking is the No. 1 risk factor for lung cancer, causing almost 90 percent of all cases. Kentucky has the highest rate of cigarette smoking in the United States and consequently leads the nation in smoking-attributed cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in men and women in Kentucky and, sadly, Kentucky's death rate from lung cancer is 37 percent higher than the national rate.

The dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke do not end there. Smoking contributes to cardiovascular disease, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome and much more.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, secondhand smoke causes nearly 34,000 premature deaths from heart disease each year in the U.S. among nonsmokers. Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and secondhand smoke increases the risk for stroke by 20 to 30 percent.

At Hardin Memorial Health, although we have long been smoke-free, we recently had to tighten policies.

Smoking and secondhand smoke impede the healing process. We are in the business of healing and must do everything we can to protect our patients, visitors and staff.

Smoking and tobacco use is prohibited not only in our buildings, but also on our sidewalks, in our parking lots, in the hospital parking garage and in personal vehicles on the hospital main campus and on the grounds of our more than 45 locations across central Kentucky. This includes vaping and e-cigarettes and applies to patients, visitors and staff. This also means patients are no longer able to leave the building or go outside to smoke.

We know smoke-free ordinances and our policy alone will not cause every tobacco user to quit. We understand nicotine addiction and what a struggle it is to break the habit.

The good news is free resources are available to help.

Every year, on the third Thursday of November, smokers across the nation take part in the American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout event.

Also, Quit Now Kentucky has a free 24-hour hotline, the "quitline" (1-800-QUIT NOW), that offers one-on-one proactive counseling for tobacco users and equips them to succeed. Participants have some of the highest success rates and it is completely free. If you smoke or use tobacco, we encourage you to use this resource. If you have a loved one who smokes, please let them know about the quitline.

We encourage smokers to talk to their health care provider about resources such as nicotine replacement therapy and symptom management. HMH providers stand ready to help both inpatients and outpatients beat their addiction.

The HMH Cancer Care team has had overwhelming success in enrolling lung cancer patients in a smoking cessation clinical trial. The goal of this particular trial is to determine the most successful smoking cessation method for patients diagnosed with a tobacco-related cancer.

As part of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center Research and Affiliate Networks, HMH refers the most patients, providing greater access to this important clinical research.

At HMH, we consider it our professional and moral obligation to be a role model and protect our patients, visitors and staff from the harmful effects of smoking and tobacco use. Many communities around Kentucky are taking action to be smoke-free.

Many have passed ordinances that make workplaces and public places 100 percent smoke-free.

In our 10-county region, those communities include Hardin County and the cities of Bardstown, Elizabethtown, Radcliff and Leitchfield. I cannot praise them enough and I encourage other communities to follow suit.

Whether in your place of business or your home, you can help us turn the tide. Join us in improving the health of our community. Go smoke free.

Nationwide News