Mission:

Lorain County Tobacco Prevention Partnership promotes optimum health and wellness through tobacco awareness and education in our communities.

Goals:

• Prevent youth from initiating use of tobacco products
• Engage and maintain community partnerships with key stakeholders to advance the tobacco prevention and cessation efforts
• Promote cessation and prevention programs and policies
• Advance LCTPP as the expert in Lorain County and surrounding areas for all tobacco prevention and cessation issues

Facts:

• Tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking, is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States
• Tobacco use is responsible for 87% of lung cancers and a myriad of other health problems
• Tobacco use has been identified as a cardiovascular disease risk factor
• Tobacco smoke contains nearly 4,000 chemicals, at least 60 are carcinogens, which means that they have been proven to cause cancer in humans
• Nationally 440,000 people (Nearly 1 of every 5 deaths) each year die form tobacco related illnesses
• 50 Ohioans die each day due to illnesses resulting from tobacco use
• Ohio ranks eleventh in the nation in the percentage of adults who smoke
• 20.5% of Ohio high school students report current tobacco use vs. the national rate of 21.7%
• 29.8% of Lorain County youth have smoked cigarettes at least once in their lifetime
• The average age of Lorain County youth to smoke their first cigarette is age 12
• Secondhand smoke is a mixture of smoke given off by the burning end of tobacco products and the smoke exhaled by smokers
• Secondhand smoke is the third most preventable cause of death behind direct smoking and alcohol in American killing more than 53,000 non-smokers each year
• Secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer and coronary heart disease in nonsmoking adults
• Young children are particularly susceptible to secondhand smoke, because their lungs are not fully developed
• Exposure to secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia in young children

How To Get Involved:

Lorain County Tobacco Prevention Partnership is always looking for new members to get involved with our tobacco prevention and control projects.

For additional information:

Mary Jo Burns
Health Educator