Page 4 - MidWeek Honolulu - Oct 19, 2022

4 OCTOBER 19, 2022
When I was grow- ing up in the 1970s, the dan- gers of smoking were com- ing into focus. Despite the efforts of tobacco compa- nies to hide the data and deny its bad effects, word was getting out: Smoking can kill you.
STATE SEN. KARL RHOADS
Smoking Is Dangerous But There Is Help To Quit
Center Living Well Hawai‘i Project’s Smoking Cessation Program, 808-848-1438. Kap‘iolani Medical Center for Women & Children’s Ka- pi‘olani Smokefree Families: Tobacco and Nicotine Cessa- tion Program, 808-983-6013. Or, talk to your doctor.
Contact State Sen. Karl Rhoads (District 13 – Dow- sett Highlands, Pu‘unui, Nu‘uanu, Pacific Heights, Pauoa, Punchbowl, Pālama, Liliha, Iwilei, Chinatown and Downtown) at 808-586-6130 or senrhoads@capitol.ha- waii.gov.
Today, if you ask a ran- dom person, virtually every- one, including smokers, will say, “It’s bad for you.”
Almost 3,000 people died in the horrific attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. That is less than three days of smoking deaths. Every three days, almost 4,000 Americans die from tobacco.
Astoundingly, 20% of all deaths in the U.S. are caused by smoking. Let that sink in. One in five American deaths are caused by tobacco.
The good news is even if you smoked for decades, quitting has almost imme- diate positive health effects. You will breathe more easily, have more energy and save money. You will lower your risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease. Your blood cir-
Every year, 480,000 Amer- icans die from smoking. Of those, 41,000 are from sec- ondhand smoke. Worldwide, 7 million people die from
American deaths from COVID in 2020 totaled 351,000. In a year where
What about Hawai‘i? The smoking rate is 12.3%, which makes us the state with the fifth lowest per- centage of people smoking. Still, there are 1,400 deaths
The stakes are high. If you are an urban Honolu- lu resident, here are easily accessible resources you can tap that will help you quit. Kalihi-Palama Health
cigarettes every year.
Fewer Americans died
it felt like the world as we knew it was ending, 129,000 more people died from smoking than from COVID.
a year from smoking in Ha- wai‘i. By comparison in mid-September, 1,639 Ha- wai‘i residents had died of COVID from the beginning of the pandemic. Just as is the case nationally, more Hawai‘i residents have died of smoking during the pan- demic than from the virus.
culation will improve. Your sense of taste and smell will get better.
in all of World War II (419,000) than do every year from smoking. Seven mil- lion people is more than the population of Singapore and approaching that of Hong Kong, wiped out every year.
In 2021, COVID deaths rose to 415,000. That’s still 65,000 fewer people than died from smoking.
For most people, quitting is hard. That is the evil beau- ty of the tobacco companies’ business model: If you stop using their products you will likely have physical with- drawal symptoms. This is a business model tobacco companies share with dealers of crystal meth and fentanyl.
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