The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department and the Tennessee Department of Health Southeast Region have launched an anti-tobacco billboard campaign that aims to educate the community about the effects of secondhand and thirdhand smoke. The campaign features 8 billboards throughout Hamilton County and 10 in the nine rural counties served by Southeast Region. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department campaign will also include a 15 second ad that will be shown in local movie theaters. Funding is provided by the Tennessee Tobacco Settlement Initiative and is being disbursed in every county in Tennessee.
Tennessee is focusing on three areas:
*Eliminating smoking during pregnancy
*Reducing infants and children’s exposure to secondhand and thirdhand smoke
*Preventing children and adolescents from beginning tobacco use
Tobacco Use Facts:
*TN has higher rates of tobacco use than the rest of the country, which contributes to poor health.
*Smoking during pregnancy leads to low-birth weight and premature birth; it can even cause death.
In children, secondhand smoke causes the following:
- Impaired brain development
- Behavior and attention problems, learning disabilities
- Ear infections
- More frequent and severe asthma attacks
- Respiratory symptoms (e.g., coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath)
- Respiratory infections (i.e., bronchitis, pneumonia)
- A greater risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
- Health problems as adults
- According to the Hamilton County 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 21% of white students were current smokers, compared to 8% of black students and 14% of Latino students.
- More than 90% of adult smokers started when they were teens. (World Health Organization)
Thirdhand Smoke Facts:
Thirdhand smoke is the toxic residue from cigarettes that clings to surfaces such as clothing, hair, skin, pets, furniture, drapes, walls, carpets, and cars long after the smoking has stopped. Infants, children and nonsmoking adults may be at risk of tobacco-related health problems when they inhale, ingest, or touch surfaces that have been exposed to this toxic residue.