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Harm Reduction
Tobacco and Vapes
Tobacco use which harms nearly every organ in the body, is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control, tobacco use causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. More deaths than the following causes combined
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Illegal drug use
- Alcohol use
- Motor vehicle injuries
- Firearm-related incidents
- More than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the United States.
- Smoking causes about 90% (or 9 out of 10) of all lung cancer deaths. More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer.5
- Smoking causes about 80% (or 8 out of 10) of all deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Cigarette smoking increases risk for death from all causes in men and women.
- The risk of dying from cigarette smoking has increased over the last 50 years in the U.S
Further, any level of secondhand smoke poses health risks for children and adults. Secondhand smoke contains hundreds of toxic chemicals including about 70 that can cause cancer.
LEARN MORE: Find out more about the health consequences of tobacco use.
GET HELP: Thinking about quitting? Quit Now Kentucky can help
Vapes are sometimes called “e-cigarettes”, “e-cigs”, “e-hookahs” ,“vape pens”, and “electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).” Some vapes look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some look like USB flash drives, pens, and other everyday items (Centers for Disease Control).
The e-cigarette aerosol that users breathe from the device and exhale can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including:
- Nicotine
- Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs
- Flavoring such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease
- Volatile organic compounds
- Cancer-causing chemicals
- Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead1
It is difficult for consumers to know what e-cigarette products contain. For example, some e-cigarettes marketed as containing zero percent nicotine have been found to contain nicotine. (Centers for Disease Control).
Please find listed below several resources to assist in the areas of prevention, enforcement, and treatment.
Prevention:
- Click Here To View CATCH My Breath E-Cigarette Prevention Program
- Click Here To View Stanford Medicine’s Tobacco Prevention Toolkit
- Click Here To View The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids informative document about JUUL
Enforcement:
- Click Here To View American Lung Association’s INDEPTH program
- Click Here To View Public Health Law Center
- Click Here To View Stanford Medicine’s Tobacco Prevention Toolkit Healthy Future’s Program
Treatment:
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