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More than 430 county families pledge to keep free of tobacco

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
More than 430 families of children under 12 pledged to the Tobacco Free Coalition of Portage County that they will keep their homes and vehicles smoke-free.

Those families responded to a newsletter article sent to more than 6,000 county families in August in conjunction with a secondhand smoke education campaign, "Take It Outside for the Kids You Love."

Cathy MacKay of the coalition said the coalition was pleased with the response. "We were expecting a 4-percent rate and we got double that," she said. "We were just so proud that they did that. It was just so overwhelming."

In addition to the number of responses, MacKay said the coalition was surprised to find that a majority of the parents said on the questionnaires that they were going to quit smoking.

Nationally, an estimated 42 percent of households with children under 12 have one or both parents who smoke, she said. "We want parents to take it (smoking) outside."

National statistics indicate 280 children die every year from exposure to secondhand smoke, and they also develop asthma, ear and respiratory infections, allergies, bronchitis, pneumonia, low birth weight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) behavioral and cognitive problems and a number of other illnesses.

Children involuntarily smoke the equivalent of three cigarettes when they spend a day in a home with a pack-a-day smoker or go on a one-hour car ride with a smoker.

The campaign to inform families about smoke was sponsored by the coalition partnering with Rice Medical Center Pediatrics and Family Practice departments, Portage County Health and Human Services Department, Head Start, the Portage County Child Passenger Safety Association, Other Mothers, the Amherst Family Resource Center and Portage County elementary schools, day cares and home schools.

In addition, after the campaign started, three more restaurants voluntarily went smoke-free, The Restaurant, Pagliacci Taverna and Water Street Grille.

"It's was wonderful to see the overwhelming support by the community for this campaign," said Bryn Wehrwein, Smoke Free Homes Work Group chair. "People are more aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke and it's health effects. You can see our culture changing. More people are choosing smoke-free environments."

MacKay said evidence of the changing culture has also been evidenced by the growth of the coalition, which has gone from 35 members to 128.



	More than 430 county families pledge to keep free of tobacco By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette More than 430 families of children under 12 pledged to the Tobacco Free Coalition of Portage County that they will keep their homes and vehicles smoke-free. Those families responded to a newsletter article sent to more than 6,000 county families in August in conjunction with a secondhand smoke education campaign, "Take It Outside for the Kids You Love." Cathy MacKay of the coalition said the coalition was pleased with the response. "We were expecting a 4-percent rate and we got double that," she said. "We were just so proud that they did that. It was just so overwhelming." In addition to the number of responses, MacKay said the coalition was surprised to find that a majority of the parents said on the questionnaires that they were going to quit smoking. Nationally, an estimated 42 percent of households with children under 12 have one or both parents who smoke, she said. "We want parents to take it (smoking) outside." National statistics indicate 280 children die every year from exposure to secondhand smoke, and they also develop asthma, ear and respiratory infections, allergies, bronchitis, pneumonia, low birth weight, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) behavioral and cognitive problems and a number of other illnesses. Children involuntarily smoke the equivalent of three cigarettes when they spend a day in a home with a pack-a-day smoker or go on a one-hour car ride with a smoker. The campaign to inform families about smoke was sponsored by the coalition partnering with Rice Medical Center Pediatrics and Family Practice departments, Portage County Health and Human Services Department, Head Start, the Portage County Child Passenger Safety Association, Other Mothers, the Amherst Family Resource Center and Portage County elementary schools, day cares and home schools. In addition, after the campaign started, three more restaurants voluntarily went smoke-free, The Restaurant, Pagliacci Taverna and Water Street Grille. "It's was wonderful to see the overwhelming support by the community for this campaign," said Bryn Wehrwein, Smoke Free Homes Work Group chair. "People are more aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke and it's health effects. You can see our culture changing. More people are choosing smoke-free environments." MacKay said evidence of the changing culture has also been evidenced by the growth of the coalition, which has gone from 35 members to 128.