Advocacy Project:Smoking is HARMFUL for your HEALTH!

-Title: If Smoking is SO Harmful, Why Start!?! NOT to mention, why would you put other people in danger with your second hand smoke?
-Purpose: To hopefully encourage people to not even try to start smoking because it is so harmful for people and not good for the environment and also very harmful for those people around the smoker who are getting the second hand smoke.
-Background/Reasoning/Evidence:I want you to know a little bit more about smoking and all of the harmful damage and effects that it causes people and the people around then who smoke or use tobacco products. Also, me and my grandma were really close all trough my childhood and she was a heavy smoker.  Despite me and my mom's numerous attempts to get her to stop, she would not.  Sadly, my grandma was diagnosed with severe lung cancer and died a few months later. This is not something I would ever wish on anyone and think that it is important you understand the dangers and risks. If you know how bad and harmful smoking is for you...I would hope that there would be no chance that you would even want to start! IF you are a current smoker, I understand it is addictive....but would hope that you would make every effort to stop because it is so dangerous and harmful to the people who are around your second hand smoke.
-Instructions: Please watch some of these videos and let me know one fact that they taught you or something they made you aware of that you did not know. If you knew this stuff, please share a feeling that you had when watching these. Thanks :)



VIDEO LINKS:

-VIDEO 1--SECOND HAND SMOKE
-VIDEO 2--QUIT SMOKING IF YOU CURRENTLY DO
-VIDEO 3-- SMOKING IS HARMFUL!

Advocacy Project: Letter and Fact Sheet

December 5, 2010
Michele Bachmann
House of Representatives
107 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Michele Bachmann,

I am writing to you concerning HR 1432: Stop Adolescent Smoking Without Excessive Bureaucracy Act of 2009 which was introduced in House Energy and Commerce.  I believe that this is an important law and should be passed because it has to do with the health and wellness of others.  People who smoke are not only harming themselves, but also the innocent people around them.
This is important to me because I do not smoke of use tobacco products and I do not want meself or my environment to suffer the harmful side effects.  Woodbury has come a long way with smoking issues but there are still so many things we can do to make tobacco products used and purchased less that they currently are.
Please pay close attention to this and vote yes to pass and enforce this law. Thank you!

Fact Sheet:

• In the United States, an estimated 24.8 million men (23.1 percent) and 21.1 million women (18.3 percent) are smokers
• The use of smokeless tobacco has been increasing, especially among America's young people.
• According to the CDC, more than 3,000 young people become regular smokers every day, which is more than one million new smokers a year.
• 1 in 5 teens smoke cigarettes. 
•  17 percent of kids in 9th grade reported smoking cigarettes. The rate of smoking then increases to a high of 26 percent in 12th grade. 

As we can see, smoking is and CONTINUES to be a problem! I am a graduate of Woodbury High School and I know that tobacco is an issue here as well. We need to continue to pass laws and stop the harmful effects of smoking!
Picture from here.

Advocacy Project: Issue Overview

Introduction:
-Current Issue: reduce illness, disability and death related to tobacco use and exposure to second hand smoke
-This is what has been done to address this so far: initiation of tobacco use (27-3).

Who is affected by the issue:
-Those who are affected most are the people who are doing the smoking or using tobacco products.  They are not only harming themselves but also those around them with their second hand smoke.
-People who are smoking loose. They loose their health, well-being, money and it can be as extreme as their loss of life.  The people who breathe in the second hand smoke also are at a loss because they are being damaged for something they are not choosing to do.
-I feel like with this law, no one is really gaining when using or being around tobacco products.  If you look at it in a bigger picture, the tobacco products are gaining in the sense that they are making money off of the people who are choosing to buy or use their products.

What are the consequences of the issue:
-The consequences of the individuals mostly affected would be their health. By using tobacco products you are really doing damage to your body and well being.
-The families are affected because they too may be forced to be around the second hand smoke.  This is unhealthy for them.  They may also have to watch a loved one suffer from the effects of smoking. Smoking also smells really bad so if you are around someone who smokes this may be a minor consequence you face.
-Society has to face second hand smoke. This is a huge issue and something that this law is trying to prevent because of the dangers associated with second hand smoke.


What is the economic impact of the issue:
-What are the economic costs of the issue, and who bears these costs? The costs would be the high price of tobacco products. The people buying these products bears these costs. If they choose to smoke, more than likely they will get sick more often, possibly get cancer or other serious diseases and if this is the case there are also the cost of medical bills, etc.
-What are the economic benefits of the issue, and who benefits? Benefits would be that the tobacco companies are making more money so they would benefit mostly from the sales of tobacco products. Hospitals and insurance companies may have benefits as well by making more money if more people are ill or getting sick.

What is the social impact of the issue?
-Social costs would be taxes being but on tobacco products and the people consuming these products would more than likely be the ones bearing the costs.
-Social benefits would maybe be less people choosing to smoke do to the taxes and therefore people would benefit first hand and second hand because there would be less people smoking and less second hand smoke.


What are the barriers?
-Barriers addressing this issue is that the tobacco companies are large and powerful and as long as they have some people buying their products they are going to want to stay in business. They also have a lot of money so they are able to use this as a resource. Tobacco is also addictive and people who use it have a hard time quitting.
-People can be educated on how harmful tobacco is for you. Hopefully barriers can be overcome be getting people to use less tobacco products or not do so around other people. If this happens the tobacco companies will continue to get less and less business.

What are the resources?
-We will need Health Educators and other people who support the issue and are willing to fight to make it effective. We will need money and programs set up, campaigns, etc.
-This can be tapped by getting appropriate funding and advertising for this issue.

What is the history of this issue?
-Before there were more people smoking and using tobacco products. Now, there are more people cutting back on the use of tobacco products due to more awareness on the issue and the dangers associated with it. Here is some progress that has been made.

Allies & Opponents:
-People who would support this issue would be health educators, doctors, nurses, people who do not want loves ones to continue smoking or people who have seen the effects first hand and some people may support this issue who currently smoke but want to try and quit
-People who would oppose this issue are the Tobacco Companies mainly and probably others who currently smoke and do not show any immediate effects
-You can try and bring these two groups of people together by educating them and by showing them you are trying to help benefit them and the community and others who live there as well. You can try and get both sides to understand where they are both coming from

-I recommend that people vote to pass this law because it will benefit more people than it hurts and it is a good law to be passed for health and well being of the people.

-Image from here

Welcome to Kristen's Atmosphere!!

Hello!  My name is Kristen and I am curently a junior at UMD.  My blog is going to reflect the information that I am learning this semester in my Environmental Health Class if you are interested in following along more information and detail is described about some of the specific things we will be learning and working on.

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