World No Tobacco Day on May 31 highlights the need to promote and protect New Yorkers from the ills of deadly tobacco use. Each year, secondhand smoke causes an estimated 7,300 smokers and 34,000 non-smoker deaths from lung cancer and heart disease, respectively, according to the New York State Department of Health data from 2018. While smoking rates in New York City have significantly decreased in the last decade from 22% to 11%, it remains the leading cause of preventable death.
This is deeply personal. My father passed away from health issues related to being a lifetime smoker during my senior year in college. The pain of losing a loved one to smoking is a tragedy no one should endure.
Tobacco products contain unsafe substances, from acetone and tar to nicotine and carbon monoxide. The inhaled substances can affect your lungs and the other organs in your body, leading to ongoing complications and long-term effects. While smoking increases your risk of certain health conditions like glaucoma, cancers, and issues with blood clotting, some other effects are immediate, such as headaches, irritated eyes, and coughing.
Assemblymember Harvey Epstein Speaks on World No Tobacco Day
It is important to know there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure. People who do not smoke but are exposed to secondhand smoke, even for a brief time, can be impacted negatively. In adult non-smokers, secondhand smoke exposure can cause coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and other illnesses. In children, secondhand smoke exposure can cause respiratory infections, ear infections, and asthma attacks.
Since 1964, approximately 2,500,000 smokers and non-smokers have died from health problems caused by secondhand smoke exposure.
In NYC, we are working together to protect our youth and advance tobacco-free spaces for our community to lead tobacco-free lives. For parents and caregivers, talk to your children about the harms of tobacco products including e-cigarettes. If teenagers are consuming movies and T.V. shows that depict tobacco imagery or e-cigarette use, parents can take a proactive step and talk to their children about the harms of such behavior.
If an adult is looking to start their journey to tobacco-free living, free and confidential services are offered by the New York State Quitline using the phone number: 1-866-NY-QUITS. For more information on Smoke-Free NYC or to lend support in ending NYC’s devastating tobacco epidemic, please visit www.NYCSmokeFree.org.
Assembly Member Harvey Epstein represents District 74 which covers the East Side of Manhattan.
