Avoidable problem: Healthy Living Project focuses on smoking and tobacco use
By Terry Rindfleisch of the Tribune staff
Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of death in our society.
At least 30 percent of all cancer deaths can be attributed to tobacco use, according to the American Cancer Society.
The cost of tobacco use to individuals, families and society is phenomenal, said Doug Mormann, director of the La Crosse County Health Department.
“It is our most important health issue that really impacts everybody,” Mormann said. “Tobacco use continues to be, by far, the most preventable cause of disease, cancer, illness and death.”
That’s why the next community Health Living project sponsored by the La Crosse Tribune and WXOW-TV 19 focuses on smoking and tobacco use. The Tribune and WXOW-TV spearheaded a “Healthy Living Today, Not Tomorrow" six-month community project started last fall that focused on healthy eating and physical activity.
This time the community project will be called, “Healthy Living Together.”
Starting Wednesday, the Tribune and WXOW-TV will report on smoking and its related issues as part of the “Healthy Living Together” community project over the next five months. Every Wednesday -- and other times fron now until February -- the Tribune and WXOW-TV will provide stories on everything from smoking cessation to secondhand smoke.
The series of stories will be broken down into six phases -- costs and consequences of smoking and the addiction, smoking cessation, the different age groups of smokers, the impact of secondhand smoke, smoking policies in public places and in the workplace and best practices to help smokers stop and prevent teens from starting in the first place.
"We're excited about the next phase of the Healthy Living project, in part because we think we can have a real impact," said Tribune editor John Smalley.
"The smoking issue is so wide-ranging that it touches nearly everyone in some way," Smalley said. "Our goal with this effort isn't to create new programs or new projects but simply to consistently point out what resources are already available for people who smoke and wish to quit, or for those who have a loved one or friend who smokes.
Smalley said the communitywide Healthy Living committee is planning to have public sessions on tobacco use, with possibly nationally-known smoking experts.
"We also want Healthy Living to be a landing spot for alternatives and positive choices that people can make in regard to generally 'taking charge' of their own health-care issues,” he said.
Sean Dwyer, WXOW-TV news director, said the latest Healthy Living partnership with the La Crosse Tribune is all about making a difference in our hometown.
“We hope the project proves valuable to smokers,” Dwyer said. “It's not about demonizing smokers, it's about helping smokers quit.
“Healthy Living is about providing a resource for smokers, their friends and family,” he said. “We hope the resource and community dialogue helps smokers kick the habit.”
Dwyer said it is crucial for smokers to participate in the project.
“We need smokers to respond to this initiative,” Dwyer said. “We want to hear what's working and what's not. Quitting smoking is difficult. We hope the value of ‘Healthy Living Together’ is to create a community discussion to make quitting an achievable goal. Quitting smoking matters. We hope ‘Healthy Living Together’ makes a difference."
Dr. Robert Nesse, Francsican Skemp Healthcare’s president and chief executive officer, said tobacco use is an issue that should be addressed by the community considering the impact on the community.
“The Healthy Living project is valuable because it can offer community support and resources for smokers,” Nesse said. “Smoking is such a widespread problem that is linked to so many diseases. It’s also an important social issue that the community can address.
“We can also solve the problem by involving the community to help smokers rather than persecuting them,” he said. “Smokers have tried to quit for years and get frequently frustrated, but they need to know there are better programs, better tools and better and safe medication to help them today.”
Jeffrey Thompson, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center’s chief executive officer, said the Healthy Living project is a “bold and broader” approach to help smokers quit and discuss the impact of tobacco use on health care and society.
“Tobacco use impacts the long-term well-being of the individual and family, and this issue is highly important to individual smokers and the people around them, but it also plays a part in the staggering rise in health-care costs,” Thompson said.
He said smokers today have a good chance of quitting for good.
“We have better tools to do something about it,” Thompson said. “We have programs with success rates of over 50 percent and support groups. It’s a great time for smokers to try to quit for good again.”
Terry Rindfleisch can be reached at trindfleisch@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8227.
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