The Truth About Tobacco This presentation is designed to cover a few basic truths about tobacco. We’ll look at: Some common myths and realities about tobacco use. The basics of nicotine addiction Industry advertising and who they target with their marketing Some common ingredients found in cigarettes and The toll that tobacco takes on the United States

Tobacco Truths LONG TERM: Cancer Respiratory disease Heart attack SHORT TERM: Makes your teeth yellow and clothes smell Extremely addictive Very costly – to all of us Legal problems LONG TERM: Cancer Respiratory disease Heart attack When used as directed – kills people Let’s start with a few basic problems that tobacco causes: Tobacco is the leading cause of cancer in the United States. If tobacco products were banned completely, the cancer rate in the US would drop by more than 50%. Cigarettes are the only product that, when used as intended, kill the consumer. Tobacco products also cause many short-term problems as well. These short-term consequences are more impactful when talking to people with the “it won’t happen to me” mentality who don’t see addiction, cancer, heart disease or death to be as concerning as some of the more social consequences such as looking bad or losing your license.

More Tobacco Truths Tobacco kills more people each year than COMBINED! Alcohol AIDS Car crashes Illegal drugs Murders Suicides Homicides COMBINED! In our society, we often hear people say “it’s just smoking” or “at least it’s not cocaine” when minors are caught with tobacco products. Unfortunately, year after year, tobacco related diseases continue to kill more people in the United States than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders, suicides and homicides COMBINED.

Tobacco Myths It’s relaxing Everyone’s doing it, so I should too You’re only hurting yourself if you use I’m 18, I have the right to choose to smoke Often, people are asked why they use tobacco products and we usually hear the same few responses. It’s relaxing– nicotine is actually a stimulant which constricts the blood vessels, causes the heart to pump faster, and restricts airways within 7 seconds of inhalation. That doesn’t sound very relaxing to me! Everyone’s doing it – in fact, only 20% of high school students used tobacco in the past month which means that 80% (THE MAJORITY) of students are NOT doing it. You’re only hurting yourself – we’ll look at this myth more in depth when we talk about secondhand smoke It’s my right to smoke – You do have the right to choose. But research has proven over and over again that secondhand smoke is a public health hazard which makes smoking in public a public health issue, not a personal rights issue. A smoker’s right to smoke should never interfere with the public’s right to breath clean air.

More Tobacco Myths Smokeless is safer than smoking It is not as addictive as… People can quit anytime they want THE TRUTH IS… Nicotine is more addictive than alcohol, heroin, or cocaine Although the rates of lung cancer are lower in consumers who use smokeless products instead of smoking, cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas and stomach increase drastically, as do gum disease and tooth decay. Again, tobacco use is often minimized in comparison to other drugs that might have more immediate consequences. However, the power of nicotine addiction should never be overlooked. Nicotine is more addictive than alcohol, heroine and cocaine, making it very difficult for people to quit “whenever they want.”

Why Do People Even Start? The Tobacco Industry knows how to market! They spend over $12.8 BILLION in the U.S. each year That’s $35 MILLION A DAY on advertising! So if it’s a well known fact that tobacco products are harmful, even deadly, why do people even start using them? The simple answer: Advertising. The tobacco industry is at the top of the field as far as marketing research and spending. They know what works and they push the boundaries of their restrictions to attract new and YOUNG customers. And they also aren’t afraid to spend the money necessary to support their marketing tactics.

Marketing Works! Research shows that youth are 3 times as sensitive to tobacco advertising that adults 1/3 of underage experimentation is attributable to tobacco advertising 81% of youth smokers prefer Marlboro, Camel and Newport- the 3 most heavily advertised brands The industry is exceptionally sensitive to young people and trends so they often target their marketing toward this particularly susceptible audience. Sales prove that their advertising works. 81% of youth smokers prefer one of the three most heavily advertised brands.

They NEED it to Work! They know that 90% of smokers started in their teens They MUST get replacement smokers. Their customers DIE! The main reason the industry targets young people is because they have to get replacement customers on a daily basis.

Youth Tobacco Use Over 3.5 Million youth under 18 are current tobacco users 1/5 are current smokers by the time they leave high school 13.1% of 10th graders & 6.5% of 8th graders are current smokers Today, in the United States: -More than 3.5 million minors are current tobacco users (they used within the last month). This accounts for about 20% of that age range. -1/5 of students will be considered smokers by the time they leave high school -The prevalence of smoking increases with each grade level, HOWEVER if a teen does not start smoking by the time they are 18 the chances are slim that they ever will.

Youth Tobacco Use 3,500 youth under age 18 try smoking for the first time each day 1,000 of them become regular daily smokers Youth consume 800 Million packs of cigarettes each year ($2 Billion in revenue) A few more statistics about teens in the United States: 3,500 young people try smoking for the first time each day 1, 000 of them become regular daily smokers The tobacco industry gets more than $2 BILLION in revenue each year from MINORS consuming their product.

What’s in the Stuff Anyway? 599 ingredients that when burned ignite over 4,000 dangerous chemicals Over 50 of which are KNOWN to cause cancer So what makes cigarettes so bad? The cigarette itself contains more than 599 IDENTIFIED ingredients. But when it is lit, more than 4,000 chemical compounds are released into the air. More than 50 of those chemical compounds are KNOWN to cause cancer; many others are still being tested.

What’s in the Stuff Anyway? Some of the common ingredients include: Ammonia Acetone Arsenic Cyanide Formaldehyde DDT Cadmium A few of the more commonly known ingredients are: -ammonia (found in most household cleaners) -acetone (nail polish remover) -arsenic (found in rat poison) -cyanide (a known poison) -formaldehyde (possible carcinogen, best known as embalming fluid) -DDT (a banned pesticide ingredient) -Cadmium (known human carcinogen)

Tobacco’s Toll on US 400,000 smokers die each year 50,000 nonsmokers die each year 1,200 people will lose their lives TODAY because of tobacco That’s one person every 72 seconds As was mentioned earlier, tobacco has a significantly high death toll in the United States. Not only do more than 400,000 people die each year from tobacco-related diseases caused by their own smoking, but an additional 50,000 NON-SMOKERS also die from tobacco-related diseases caused by someone around them smoking. That breaks down to about 1,200 people per day, or one person every 72 seconds in the United States.

Secondhand Smoke 15.5 Million kids in the U.S. are exposed to secondhand smoke in the home Waiters and Waitresses who work in a smoke-filled restaurant or bar inhale enough 2nd hand smoke to have smoked 2 packs during an 8-hr shift! We mentioned earlier that smoking is a public health issue, not a personal rights issue. We’ve seen a large push across the country to pass clean air laws in an effort to protect the general public from the 4,000 chemical compounds that we talked about earlier. But when more than 15.5 million children are exposed to secondhand smoke in their own homes, it becomes a difficult public health issue to do anything about. In California, it was the restaurant workers who were the driving force behind passing their statewide clean air law because of the amount of smoke they were inhaling at work.

Secondhand Smoke Contains all the same harmful chemicals as the smoke from the cigarette Chemicals stay in air, and in fabric, etc for extended period of time Third-hand smoke is becoming a problem! The issue with smoking in public is that everyone around the smoker is breathing in the same 4,000 chemicals, without choosing to. These chemicals stay in the air, and in fabrics, for extended periods of time. Research is currently being done on the effects of the chemicals that are absorbed into clothes being transferred to young children through touch in what is being termed as “third-hand smoke”. So even those parents or caregivers who do not smoke in the presence of their children, may still be transferring the chemicals.

For more information… Texas School Safety Center: Ruby Moore www.txssc.txstate.edu/si 877-304-2727 Ruby Moore Program Manager rm72@txstate.edu For statistical information: www.tobaccofreekids.org For more information about this presentation or about tobacco prevention work that is being done in the state of Texas, please contact Ruby Moore at the Texas School Safety Center. For more statistical information please visit the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids’ website. The Texas School Safety Center is a university center housed at Texas State University- San Marcos that serves as a central location for safety and security information for all independent school districts and junior college districts in the state of Texas. Services include training, research, and technical assistance related to safe and healthy schools. Our mission is to guide schools and communities as they strive to sustain safe, secure, and healthy learning environments.