BH 442
July 24, 2014
I know the title of
the soap opera is “The Young and the Restless”, but I want to focus on the
number of friends and family members I have lost to preventable diseases, especially diseases caused by smoking.
According to The
American Lung Association in 2010,
the top five causes of death in the United States were diseases of the heart,
cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, stroke, and unintentional injuries. And men may be more at-risk for these diseases than women.
Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung
diseases, including emphysema, bronchitis, and chronic airway obstruction, and
diabetes.
On my current
television program and on so many of my radio show over the years, I have had
experts to tell us the danger of these illnesses and how we can prevent them,
but most people find it hard to face mortality.
I can name eight of
my disc jockey friends who have died as a direct result of smoking. I also lost
a sister and a brother because of smoking. I am not an activist or a crusader
taking on the tobacco industry, but it is shameful for us to know the dangers of
smoking and continue to gamble with our health.
The American Lung
Association informs us that cigarette smoking
has been identified as the most important source of preventable disease and
illness, and premature death worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim an
estimated 443,000 American lives each year, including those affected
indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking
and victims of "secondhand" exposure to tobacco’s carcinogens.
About 8.6 million people in the U.S. have at least one
serious illness caused by smoking. That means that for every person who dies of
a smoking-related disease, there are 20 more people who suffer from at least
one serious illness associated with smoking
You
must remember that African American
communities have been bombarded with cigarette advertising. Since the Master
Settlement Agreement (MSA) in 1998, the average youth in the United States is
annually exposed to 559 tobacco ads, every adult female 617 advertisements and
every African American adult 892 ads.
Women have also been extensively targeted in tobacco
marketing. Such marketing is dominated by themes of an association between
social desirability, independence, weight control and smoking messages conveyed
through advertisements featuring slim, attractive, and athletic models.
Once
there were battles against these advertisements, as well as the malt liquor
campaigns, but somehow after the government cracked down on the tobacco
companies, after a barrage of law suits and settlements, some of us have
drifted back to the same old harmful and destructive habit of smoking.
Don’t
think I do not recognize that you have a choice to live your life the way that
you choose, and I know how hard it is to break away from the nicotine, but I
will say, most smokers will quit one way or another.
Americans for Nonsmokers Rights state on average, smokers die
10 years earlier than nonsmokers. Secondhand smoke in the
workplace is a health justice issue; everyone deserves protection from
workplace health hazards, and no one should have to choose between their
livelihood and exposure to an easily preventable cause of premature death and
chronic disease.
African Americans experience greater health
disparities than the general population, in part due to greater levels of
exposure to secondhand smoke and its negative health effects, such as heart
disease, lung cancer, and premature death.
The facts show not only that the African
American community is in need of protection from secondhand smoke, but also
that it is supportive of smoke free air. They suggest when developing a smoke
free public education campaign, it is important to engage all segments of the
community in support of this public health right. What do YOU think?
What about legalizing marijuana? That is another
column.
Please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at
10pm and Friday Morning at 9 am and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch.
24, and follow me on Twitter: @berhay and view my Blog @ http://berniehayesunderstands.blogspot.com/
Be Ever Wonderful!
Hotep!
