Survey said... smoking is a drag

The U.S. Surgeon General reported in 2006 that secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and adults who don’t smoke, and that scientific evidence indicates there is no risk-free level of exposure to it.

Yet despite the overwhelming evidence against smoking, people continue to participate in the harmful habit that affects not only their own bodies, but also those of nonsmokers and animals.

Since 2003, the Southern Adirondack Tobacco Free Coalition has commissioned an annual survey to unearth the attitudes local residents have regarding secondhand smoke, the prevalence of tobacco use and the tobacco industry’s advertising, promotion and sponsorship in the community. SATFC project manager Janine Stuchin believes the recent survey shows strong support for smoke-free outdoor venues.

“We see a clear trend in the data,” Stuchin said. “Four years ago, when the Clean Indoor Air Act was passed, most people weren’t thinking about clean outdoor air. Now, people don’t want to be exposed to secondhand smoke when they enter a building, take their child to a playground or go to a park or municipal pool.”

Syracuse University researchers conducted the survey in June; it consisted of 750 telephone interviews with adults from Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties. SATFC Program Coordinator Margaret LaFrance said the study found over 75 percent of adults from the previously mentioned locations favor smoke-free playgrounds and 70 percent want building entranceways to be smoke-free. In addition, at least half of the respondents supported smoke-free public parks, outdoor recreation areas and public beaches.

“These are huge percentages, and they show that people’s attitudes are changing,” LaFrance said. “It is our hope that municipalities are listening and will start taking action to make their properties tobacco free. People want to go to public places that are healthy for themselves and their families.”

As for tobacco advertising, more than two-thirds of those surveyed said it shouldn’t be allowed outside stores located near schools, playgrounds or daycare centers. To LaFrance though, the more startling discovery was that the majority of people didn’t want the advertising to be allowed inside the stores either.

“This shows that they understand the harmful influence tobacco advertising has on young people and the part it plays in youth smoking initiation,” she said.

Saratoga Springs City School District Superintendent Janice White said she’s not aware of any such advertising in close proximity to any of their schools. She doesn’t want any either.

“I think anything that encourages the use of tobacco should be as far away from the school environment as we can get it,” White said.

The superintendent said that what kids are exposed to, particularly at home, definitely influences the way they think about things. So, if a parent smokes or uses alcohol, she believes it’s likely the child will normalize it.

SATFC has served the region for more than a decade as a resource for those looking to stop smoking, but also as a generator of media campaigns on the dangers of secondhand smoke and initiatives to prevent youths from using tobacco.

For more information, call 581-1230 or visit www.TobaccoFreeAdirondacks.org.