Work is paying off

Albert Lea is making great strides in many sectors to raise awareness about the effects of smoking and to ultimately reduce the number of people who smoke.

Whether it be in housing, business or local government, changes over the years are starting to make an impact.

The city has implemented a tobacco-free policy in the parks and at City Hall and City Arena.

Albert Lea City Manager Chad Adams said city leaders recognize that second-hand smoke causes numerous health problems in infants and children.

“As a matter of public policy, we believe it is important to protect our chidlren’s health from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke,” Adams said.

He said the impact of the new policy has been predominately positive. The city has received many compliments about the policy and has been seen as a leader by other communities seeking to obtain Blue Zones designation.

Trailside Apartments Manager Melanie Wood said her complex went tobacco-free last June.

People have to be 25 feet away from the buildings to smoke.

“We’ve had a good response, even from the smokers who have said it has helped them quit or slow down,” Wood said.

She said she knows of five residents personally who have cut back on smoking — two of those five have quit altogether.

Robyn Joel, wellness coordinator at Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services, said her business’s choice to go tobacco-free has been a big success — also leading some employees to quit smoking.

The company’s employee assistance program offers options of where employees can speak with a counselor for help to quit smoking. Free health coaching is available 24 hours a day, along with products that may aid in making the process easier.

“We did it for the overall general health of our employees and for people visiting the campus,” Joel said. “Second-hand smoke is almost as harmful as smoking. And it keeps the campus cleaner.”

For the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, she has highlighted reasons to quit smoking along with resources that people can use to quit on the company’s wellness board. It also includes words of encouragement and tips to quit smoking from other employees who have quit.

Lana Howe, with Freeborn County Partners in Prevention, said her organization collaborates with others in the community  to raise awareness of prevention efforts for the county’s youth.

“Smoking is a huge part of substance prevention efforts, not only here in Freeborn County, but across the nation,” Howe said. “I believe all substances to be very dangerous, especially if being used by youth.”

She works with the Youth Agents of Change groups at the area schools. She said it is also important to get families talking about these issues more at home.

“Youth are curious, and if they aren’t talking to you, who are you talking to?” she said, noting that the more education there is, the less likely youth are to experiment with smoking and other drugs.

What is the Great American Smokeout?

The American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout events started in the 1970s when smoking and secondhand smoke were commonplace.

The idea for the event grew from a 1970 event in Randolph, Massachusetts, at which Arthur P. Mullaney asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund.

The idea caught on, and in 1976, the California division of the American Cancer Society got nearly 1 million smokers to quit smoking for a day. The program went nationwide in 1977.

The Great American Smokeout draws attention to the deaths and chronic diseases caused by smoking. The event has led to community programs and smoke-free laws that are now saving lives in many states.

The event challenges people to stop using tobacco and helps people know about tools they can use to help them quit.

 

— Information from cancer.org