A Passion of Mine!

Anyone who knows me knows about my passion towards building a smoke-free world! So I stumbled upon a website about making Michigan Smoke-free and decided to help spread the word a little. I know everyone knows the dangers of second hand smoke and those who smoke generally use the excuse "I'm gonna die anyways" when I say something to them about it, but I just want to stress how ridiculous that statement is and how it is not fair for someone to put others lives in danger to get a quick fix from a cancer stick that only lasts a few minutes at a time. The Kids and Smoking section really make me sick to my stomach. I just ask everyone to please read these facts and think about what you are doing to your body or the person standing next to you before you light the next one up. Thanks.

These facts are from http://www.makemiairsmokefree.com/know-the-facts.php. Please check the website out and sign the petition to make Michigan air smoke free!!

Health Statistics

Dangers of Secondhand Smoke:

• 21.9% of Michigan adults smoke.
• Secondhand smoke causes between 35,000 and 62,000 deaths from heart disease every year.¹
• 12,000 otherwise healthy nonsmokers will die of some form of cancer, 3,000 specifically to lung cancer, because of their exposure to secondhand smoke.²
• Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 substances, more than 69 of which are known or suspected to cause cancer.^3,4
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen, a substance which is known to cause human cancer.
• According to the American Cancer Society, secondhand smoke is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States, killing 38,000 to 65,000 nonsmokers every year.
• Food service workers appear to be 50 percent more likely than the general population to develop lung cancer, largely because many of them are exposed to secondhand smoke on the job.^5,6

Kids and Smoking:

• 17% (101,400) of high school students smoke.
• 30,100 to 19,000 young people(under 18) in MI become new daily smokers each year.
• 20.7 million packs of cigarettes are bought or smoked by young people in MI each year.
• Studies show secondhand smoke may be a major factor in the development of asthma in children under five.
• Secondhand smoke is a serious trigger of asthma and can cause or worsen respiratory conditions. Studies have shown that children with asthma who are exposed to secondhand smoke require more asthma medicines, have more emergency room visits and lower lung function.

Deaths in Michigan From Smoking:

• 14,500 adults die each year from their own smoking.
• 298,000 young people under 18 and live in Michigan will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.
• 1,340 to 2,390 adults, children, and babies die each year from others' smoking (secondhand smoke and pregnancy smoking).

Smoking-Caused Monetary Costs in Michigan:

• $3.4 billion—Annual health care costs in Michigan directly caused by smoking.
• $1.1 billion—Portion covered by the state Medicaid program.
• $637—Per household resident's state and federal tax burden from smoking-caused government expenditures.
• $3.80 billion—Smoking-caused productivity losses in Michigan.