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Tobacco Prevention & Cessation  

Buncombe County Department of Health works to improve the health of county residents by promoting tobacco-free lifestyles, smoke-free places, and policies that support these efforts. Our Tobacco Prevention and Control Program is managed through the Project ASSIST Tobacco Prevention Coalition, a local partnership of community members and agencies working together to:

  • Reduce tobacco use among youth and adults
  • Promote policies that reduce exposure to second-hand smoke
  • Prevent youth from starting tobacco use

For information about tobacco prevention and control or about Project ASSIST, call 828-250-5048. For information about North Carolina’s “Smoke-Free Restaurants and Bars Law,” please link to the following website: www.Smokefree.NC.gov

Quitting

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Help is available for anyone wanting to quit smoking or to quit using smokeless tobacco.
We can give information on:

Secondhand Smoke Facts

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Smoke-free Homes and Cars

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Many families create smoke-free homes and cars to protect children, other family members, and friends from secondhand smoke. When you are unable to control the secondhand smoke in a home you rent or own, such as apartments or condominiums, there are steps you can take to try and protect yourself and family from secondhand smoke. The North Carolina Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch offers helpful suggestions for smoke-free living.

Smoke-free Workplaces

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Smoke-free workplaces are good for health and good for business and lead to:

  • Lower maintenance costs (carpets, drapes, cloths, paintwork, and ash dispensers)
  • Lower insurance premiums (Fire, medical, workers comp, and liability).
  • Lower labor costs (absenteeism, and loss of productivity).

All this equals greater profits, a healthier work environment, and a safer work environment.

The Tobacco Prevention Program at Buncombe County Department of Health can help employers set up a workplace policy and provide assistance through the process. We can also help employees advocate for smoke-free worksites.

For more information, or for help with creating a tobacco-free workplace in Buncombe County, please call us at 828-250-5048. Or visit the website: www.no-smoke.org

Tobacco Facts

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Tobacco Facts for Men

  • The health benefits of quitting smoking far outweigh any risks from weight gain.
  • Smoking may reduce fertility and lead to impotence among men.
  • Smokers heal slower from injuries than nonsmokers.
  • Smokeless tobacco (spit tobacco) users are up to 50 times more likely to get oral cancer than non-users.
  • Spit tobacco causes leukoplakia, a disease of the mouth described as white patches and oral lesions on the cheeks, gums, and/or tongue.
  • Like cigarettes, cigars contain the same toxic and cancer-causing compounds.
  • Cigar smokers experience higher rates of lung cancer, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than non-smokers.
  • Cigar smokers can spend up to an hour smoking a single cigar that can contain as much tobacco as a pack of cigarettes.

Tobacco Facts for Women

  • Women who smoke and use oral birth control are up to 40 times more likely to have a heart attack than women who neither smoke nor use birth control.
  • The risk of developing lung cancer is 13 times higher for women who smoke compared to lifelong non-smokers.
  • Smoking reduces a woman’s fertility.
  • Women have a more difficult time quitting smoking than men, and have lower cessation rates.
  • The health benefits of quitting smoking far outweigh any risks from weight gain.
  • In the 1980’s, lung cancer overtook breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death of women. Since 1950, lung cancer death rates for women have increased 600%.

Tobacco Facts for Teens

  • Nearly every adult who smokes (almost 90 percent) took their first puff at or before the age of 18, which means that almost all smokers started smoking in their teens.
  • The average age when someone tries tobacco for the first time is 13.  As many as half of the kids who experiment become regular smokers.
  • Nearly 4 out of 10 high school teens in western North Carolina use some form of tobacco.
  • Every year in North Carolina, there are 52,700 kids under 18 who try cigarettes for the first time. About 24,000 of those kids become new, daily smokers each year.
  • Most adolescents who smoke are addicted to nicotine.  When young people try to quit smoking, they experience withdrawal symptoms very similar to those experienced by adults.
  • More than 5 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision they will make as teens... the decision to smoke cigarettes.

Tobacco Facts for Pregnancy

  • When a pregnant woman smokes, so does her baby.  Smokers take in poisons such as nicotine and carbon monoxide (the same gas that comes out of a car's exhaust pipe). These poisons keep the unborn baby from getting the food and oxygen needed to grow.
  • When a pregnant woman smokes, nothing can protect her baby from danger.
  • If a woman smokes during pregnancy she takes a big chance with her baby's health. There is a greater chance that she will lose the baby during pregnancy. The baby could also be born too early, before the lungs are ready, so the baby will have trouble breathing.
  • Mothers who smoke while pregnant are more likely to have their babies die of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
  • When a breast feeding mother smokes, the baby drinks the poison in her breast milk.

5A’s Brief Cessation Counseling

Research has shown that when a physician gives brief advice to quit tobacco use, a patient’s chances of quitting significantly increase.

The 5A’s are a quick and easy intervention that health and dental providers can use to support patients to quit. By using the 5A’s as a vital sign, providers can remind and encourage patients at each visit.

The 5A’s are recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Clinical Practice Guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, and include:

Ask Ask every patient if they smoke.
Consider tobacco use one of the vital signs.
Use a universal identification system (i.e. stickers, computer reminders, etc.).
Advise Give clear advice about quitting.
Give information on the benefits of quitting.
Assess Assess patient’s willingness to make a quit attempt in the next 30 days.
Assist Patients can be referred to the NC Quitline, a free service that can assist patients to develop a quit plan.
Arrange NC Quitline can follow up with 3 phone calls to a participant to check on the cessation progress. Important for local provider to also follow-up at future clinic visits.

To schedule a training for your health care team in Buncombe County, please contact our tobacco prevention program at 828-250-5048.

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