FRANKFORT, KY – Cancer patients, survivors and advocates are marking the American Cancer Society's 49th annual Great American Smokeout, taking place on Thursday, November 20th, by calling on Kentucky lawmakers to increase funding for vital fact-based tobacco control programs to $4 million annually and allocate all JUUL settlement funds to tobacco prevention and to help people quit.
“The Great American Smokeout is not just an opportunity for people who use tobacco to set a plan to quit. It’s also a clear wake-up call for lawmakers to say it’s time for Kentucky to stand up to Big Tobacco,” said Doug Hogan, government relations director, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “For too long, Kentucky has allowed the tobacco industry to addict people to deadly, cancer-causing products. It’s time to say, enough is enough. Kentuckians deserve better.”
In Kentucky, tobacco use is still the leading preventable cause of disease and death, and smoking is linked to at least 12 types of cancers, including lung, liver and colorectal cancers. Each year, more than 8,000 people die from a smoking-related disease in Kentucky alone. Although these hazards are well-established, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that 17.4% of adults in Kentucky smoke. These products are highly addictive, and it can be difficult for people to quit using tobacco once they have started.
“Nearly 70% of adults who smoke want to quit, but quitting is incredibly difficult,” said Hogan. “We know that well-funded tobacco prevention efforts and services that help people quit are so important to provide the support needed to help people quit, and to help prevent kids and young adults from starting to use tobacco. That is why ACS CAN is calling on state lawmakers to increase funding for programs to prevent kids from starting to use tobacco and help adults quit in the state budget to $4 million annually and allocate all JUUL settlement funds to tobacco prevention and cessation.”
Free resources on quitting tobacco can be found through the American Cancer Society’s cessation program, Empowered to Quit or at Quit Now Kentucky.