Measuring our Progress Toward
a Healthier Community
Priority: Tobacco Use
Jennifer's Story
Jennifer Wissler had quit
smoking when she got pregnant,
only to start again after her baby
was born. Eventually the “babies”
got old enough to question
their mom’s smoking. That was
the motivation she needed to
quit for good! Jennifer has been
smoke-free for more than a
year and feels so strongly about
her new lifestyle that she now
teaches the Freedom from
Smoking class.
Denise's Story
Denise Stouffer, an 8th grade
teacher at Columbia Middle School,
has developed a course that
incorporates LifeSkills –
a research-based prevention
program – into her “Literacy Counts”
curriculum. Denise says, “This is a
great way to teach students how to
make healthy choices and enhance
their love of reading while in a
non-threatening environment.” |
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Denise's Story
Denise Stouffer, an 8th grade
teacher at Columbia Middle School,
has developed a course that
incorporates LifeSkills –
a research-based prevention
program – into her “Literacy Counts”
curriculum. Denise says, “This is a
great way to teach students how to
make healthy choices and enhance
their love of reading while in a
non-threatening environment.” |
According to the 2005 Health Data Report, tobacco-related illnesses are associated with the top four causes of death in Lancaster County: heart disease, lung disease, stroke and cancer. Second-hand smoke is associated with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), asthma and chronic respiratory infections in children. Partnering with the
Tobacco Free Coalition of Lancaster County, Lancaster General works to prevent tobacco use and its harmful effects.
Lancaster General and its physicians collaborate to increase the number of clinicians who routinely counsel smokers on second-hand exposure/prevention. Training support is available through the Clean Air, developed with the Pennsylvania Academy of Pediatrics.
As with obesity, the best way to address smoking is to stop the habit before it starts; this makes helping children a high priority. Lancaster General is in its fourth year of implementing LifeSkills, a comprehensive school program to prevent tobacco use and addiction. Nationwide, LifeSkills has had demonstrated impact, reducing tobacco use among adolescents by 75 percent and polydrug use up to 66 percent. Public school districts using LifeSkills include: Columbia, Conestoga Valley, Eastern Lancaster County, Hempfield, Lampeter-Strasburg, Penn Manor, Lancaster and Warwick. Also involved are Lancaster Country Day, Lancaster Prep, Manheim Christian, Our Lady of Angels, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Sacred Heart, St. Leo the Great, Mount Joy Career & Technology Center and Intermediate Unit 13.
Late 2004, we launched a smoking cessation program for inpatients at Lancaster General Hospital and Women & Babies Hospital. To date, we have seen 3,015 patients; 49 percent of those who called it quits were still smoke-free after one year.
Lancaster General also conducts an ongoing Freedom from Smoking (FFS) program, open to anyone in the community who is trying to kick the habit. Designed by the American Lung Association and taught by Lancaster General wellness educators, FFS includes seven sessions over six weeks. The goal is to help people understand and change behaviors that lead to smoking through a personalized plan that focuses on diet, exercise and other habits. During fiscal year 2006, 223 individuals participated, including private citizens and corporate groups. Five years into our tobacco free initiative, numbers are going down – a trend we’ll work to continue.
Finally, we cannot forget advocacy. Lancaster General works at the legislative level to keep tobacco settlement money for smoking prevention instead of other state projects.
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Smoking on the Decline in Lancaster County |
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