Smoking

On Thursday, for the first time in American history, the 112th Congress opened up its tenure by reciting the U.S. Constitution on the House floor. Progressive Democrats bemoaned the act as “nonsense,” “ritualistic” and “propaganda.” Too bad for them, they missed the point. When I was a kid and I misbehaved in class, my teacher would make me write lines. I’d have to write 300 times, “I will not talk in class” — fitting for a guy who now makes his living with words.

Father’s Day is a day to celebrate dads for who they are and all of the wonderful things they do. It is also a great time for dads to remember the important role they play in influencing the choices their kids make regarding tobacco use. For many kids, Father’s Day means taking Dad out to breakfast, giving him a gift, or just saying thanks. But hundreds of thousands of kids throughout the country have fathers who smoke and who need to be reminded that smoking is America’s number one preventable cause of death.

Dear Editor: Thursday, the American Cancer Society is sponsoring the Great American Smoke-out - a day set aside each year in November to encourage smokers to quit smoking. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), and Department for Public Health state that 27.5 percent of adults smoke in Kentucky, leading the nation, and the youth smoking rate is high as well at 28 percent. The health benefits of quitting smoking are numerous, and it is one of the best things that you can do for your health.

Central Kentucky Cancer Program and Ephraim McDowell Health Care Foundation encourage individuals who smoke to kick their habit Thursday during this year's Great American Smokeout. The foundation, in conjunction with Boyle County Health Department, is distributing pencils to all elementary students in the Danville and Boyle County schools in observance of the Great American Smokeout. Individuals also may participate in smoking cessation programs in their community to help them quit smoking.

Dear Editor: In response to the question of how people who smoke can live to be 70 or 80 years old, they're lucky. The health risks associated with smoking - including many different types of cancer and heart disease - only increase as a smoker ages. To point to a single example of a smoker who has managed to beat the odds is to ignore the enormous amount of credible scientific research that has proved beyond a doubt that smoking is harmful to both the smoker and everyone around him. Jen Thompson Arlington, Va.

Clyde Miller has the dubious distinction of being the first inmate in the Lincoln County Regional Jail busted for having cigarettes in his cell. Smoking and the possession of tobacco products by inmates and staff at the Lincoln County Regional jail was banned earlier this month, said Jailer David Gooch. Neither inmates nor jail staff members are allowed to enter the jail with any tobacco products in their possession. Matches and lighters are also taboo. "We have had very few problems with any inmate wanting to bring tobacco products into our facility," Mr. Gooch said.

Dear Editor: I thought I lived in America. I also thought a lot of lives were lost in a battle for us to be free and to choose what we do. I have family members who smoke, and I am a victim of a drunk driver. So who am I to talk about people and what they do? So which outweighs which - smoking ban or the right to drink? A lot people do both to begin with. It does not make sense because it can take a drunk person seconds to hit and hurt or even kill someone. As for smoking, that's a price someone pays later on down the road.

Dear Editor, Imagine yourself in a restaurant and someone comes in, sits down and pulls out a shotgun, aims it at you and fires. With short range and a high density pattern you are likely to die or be very seriously injured. That's how I think of going into a business where smoking is allowed. If you light a cigarette and blow the cancer causing particles out into the room where I'm trying to enjoy my dinner, you should be ticketed or jailed for intent to do bodily harm with a deadly weapon.

BURGIN (AP) ? Northpoint Training Center has lifted a ban on smoking but is no longer allowing prisoners to keep their own matches or lighters in the wake of last week's fiery riots, a Justice Cabinet spokeswoman said Friday. Although smoking had been allowed at the prison in designated outdoor areas, it was banned following the Aug. 21 riot in which inmates set fire to several buildings, many of them likely torched beyond repair. Spokeswoman Jennifer Brislin said inmates had previously been allowed to keep matches and lighters with them inside the prison, but now they must request that prison employees light their cigarettes during smoking breaks.

Since I wrote about the harmful effects of smoking in April, I thought this would be a great time to cover the facts about secondhand smoke. Many people think this is just a political issue about who had the right to smoke, and who has the right to a smoke-free environment. While this is true to a certain point, for many, it's more about the harmful effects that it causes for the non-smoker, who happens to be sharing the same space with the smoker. So let's talk about the facts as they relate to harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

Having worked as a respiratory therapist for more years than I care to count, I have seen the debilitating effects of tobacco in the lives of those who choose to smoke. My role in dealing with those suffering the effects ranged from education aimed at smoking cessation to testing and treating them with various medications, nebulizers and home oxygen. I have seen many patients' condition deteriorate so severely that they become dependent upon family members to assist them with even the simplest of tasks.

In an ongoing effort to increase fire safety in local homes, Danville firefighters are pleased to have received 300 residential smoke alarms from the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. Fire Chief Woody Ball and Fire Marshal Ken Pflug say it's surprising how many people do not have working smoke alarms in their homes, which is unacceptable because the small $10 device can save lives. So far in 2013, 24 fire fatalities have occurred in Kentucky, including five children and two adults who died in a house fire in Knox County nearly three weeks ago. An investigation revealed all seven victims died of smoke inhalation, and the home was not equipped with a smoke alarm.

Kentucky's chance to take the lead on legal hemp appears to be gaining new life less than a week after the legislation looked like it was going up in smoke. The legislature should pass the original Senate Bill 50, or at least allow a vote, before it gets snuffed out by partisanship. Smoke has characterized the highly politicized process of readying the state to quickly and legally grow and market hemp if the decades-long federal ban is lifted.  House Speaker Greg Stumbo had declared the bill championed by Agriculture Commissioner James Comer all but dead after reiterating his position that any state laws to regulate hemp would be unnecessary.

As Gov. Steve Beshear continues his crusade for a statewide smoking ban in restaurants and other public places, Jessamine lawmakers are not overly supportive of the governor's stance. “I don't think it will pass; I don't think they have the votes, from what I've been told by the lobbyists,” state Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, said. “I'm really not for it. I think it (should) be left up to each individual community to decide what kind of smoking bans they want in place. I'm not too much on Frankfort telling Nicholasville what they've got to do.” But last Thursday, Beshear urged state legislators to act quickly on the measure, according to The Associated Press.

The last thing we want to think about during the holidays is a devastating fire in our home. We can almost envision the terrible panic, the sirens, the emergency responders, the smoke, a destroyed home and perhaps even the injury or tragic loss of a loved one, when the word “fire” is mentioned. Every fire can't be prevented, but the vast majority can. A large dose of common sense, coupled with basic fire safety tips provided by the NFPA and other organizations, should allow all of us to get through the holiday season and beyond, unscathed by fire.

Don't be a statistic - we can help. One in every five deaths (443,000 people annually) is a direct result of tobacco use. The single most important thing you can do for your health and the health of others is to quit using tobacco. Studies show that individuals who enlist the support of cessation classes and groups and/or seek out assistance from quit lines/online quit resources are more likely to succeed than those who try to quit on their own. Kentucky is one of many states that offer a free bilingual cessation hotline for individuals who want to stop smoking (open Monday - Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 a.m.)

'm not sure President Barack Obama asked for help with sharpening his campaign message, but Politico reports that Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear offered a couple of gems anyhow. First, he advised Obama to cease accepting so much responsibility for our nation's stalled economic recovery. Apparently, Beshear believes Americans' - including Kentuckians' - growing lack of confidence in the current administration has nothing to do with record unemployment, hundreds of billions in failed stimulus spending, forcing unsustainable energy sources on our communities or pushing the country down the treacherous road of socialized medicine.

Mother's Day is a day to celebrate moms for who they are and all of the wonderful things they do. It is also a great time for moms to remember the important role they play in influencing the choices their kids make regarding tobacco use. Unfortunately, tobacco use among women remains a serious problem: More than 21 million women currently smoke, an estimated 173,000 women die every year from smoking and more than 86,000 kids have already lost...

If you are a smoker, deciding to become a nonsmoker may be the most important decision you could make to improve your life. The Clark County Health Department is determined to help you. There will be a new “Cooper/Clayton Method to Stop Smoking” class starting Tuesday, April 3. This successful class offers group support along with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) to guide smokers in their journeys to being non-smokers. Over the years, this class has helped many Clark County residents become nonsmokers.  A July 2011 graduate wrote that the class “…made a huge impact on me and my life.