nwasianweekly.com
Oct. 20, 2007

Photo provided by Men’s Health Network


Former Gov. Gary Locke was a speaker at the Smoking Policy Summit.

It takes a village to quit smoking

One key to containing our state’s exploding medical costs, healthcare advocates say, is convincing more Washingtonians to quit smoking.

Cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of disease and death in the state of Washington. According to the state Department of Health, 8,000 people a year die from smoking-related causes, and tobacco-related disease costs an estimated $1.5 billion in total healthcare costs to the state annually.

The people of Washington have demonstrated that smoking cessation is a priority; in recent years they have overwhelmingly supported state laws that ban smoking. These laws are critically important tools to protect people from secondhand smoke and also to deter people from starting to smoke and falling into addiction. There is, however, another important component that must be tackled: creating ways to help people quit.

Smoking is a chronic, relapsing medical condition — an addiction similar in nature to that seen in heroin and cocaine users. Studies have shown that around 70 percent of smokers report that they want to quit; however, only around 5 percent of smokers who try to quit without medical aid succeed.

As with most chronic medical conditions, smoking cessation is not a quick fix. The average smoker will attempt to quit six to eight times before succeeding. Success requires assistance from family and friends, medical practitioners and the greater community. It also requires access to treatments. Fortunately, new science has led to the development of even more effective treatments that, combined with behavior modification counseling, can produce long-term or even permanent abstinence.

To illustrate the importance of this issue to our state, a Washington Smoking Policy Summit was held Oct. 4 in Seattle that highlighted the impact that smoking has on the state as well as the challenges that exist regarding smoking cessation reimbursement. Former Gov. Gary Locke was one of many speakers who highlighted the call to action for increased access and availability of all resources to assist smokers in successfully quitting.

To most effectively support the well-being of the people of Washington and to significantly reduce our rapidly growing healthcare costs, it is important that we not only build systems in our communities that provide access to smoke-free environments, but also ensure that comprehensive, affordable assistance is available for those smokers empowered to quit. We can save money and lives by giving those who are currently addicted to nicotine the tools to breathe free from cigarette smoke once and for all — the results of which benefit everyone.

For further calls to action and to access resources and information related to the Washington Smoking Policy Summit, visit www.menshealthconference.com.

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