Published: July 13, 2007 10:39 pm      

Tobacco 101: Not blowing smoke

Many may think that it is a good thing to be ranked number one. But, consider this: Kentucky ranks number one in the nation for overall adult smoking, number one in female adult smokers, number one in youth smoking, number one in the amount of youths younger than 12 who are exposed to secondhand smoke, number one for the number of adults who have smoking-related forms of cancer and among the top 10 in the nation for people with heart disease.

Veronica Nunley, an active tobacco prevention speaker based in Frankfort, said she would like to see Kentucky ranked at least number two before she retires.

Her statistics derive from the national Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and national research publication Tobacco Control.

She shared these and many other statistics Thursday at Tobacco 101, hosted at the Richmond Teen Center and sponsored by the Madison County Community Partnership along with the faith task force, the Tobacco Prevention Enhancement Site and the Madison County Health Department.

Richmond’s youth and parents from several area churches attended the seminar that was not only informational, but also featured several door prizes and plenty of pizza afterwards.

The statistics and research Nunley presented Thursday came from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and Tobacco Control, a national research publication.

Some of the information she presented was followed by gasps from both parents and youth.

An example would be the statistics Nunley presented about youth and teen smoking: 6,800 Kentucky youths become new smokers each year; 107,000 kids alive today will die from smoking-related causes; and 3,000 teens become addicted to tobacco each day.

The financial statistics received a few wide-eyed looks of disbelief as well: $12.4 billion is spent each year on tobacco advertisements; $34.1 million is spent each day on advertisements; $549.7 million is spent in Kentucky each year on advertisements; $45.8 million is spent in Kentucky each month on advertisements; $125,479 is spent in Kentucky each day on advertisements.

“That averages to $5,228 an hour being spent in Kentucky on tobacco advertisements,” she said.

Throughout her research, Nunley claimed to have found a way to almost eliminate lung cancer.

“If everyone would stop smoking cold turkey, we could eliminate about 86 percent of lung cancer,” she said. “That’s pretty close to finding a cure.”

Some companies are marketing their product as being “all natural tobacco,” Nunley said.

“Well, poison ivy is all natural, but I don’t think you would go wrap yourself up in it,” she said among a room full of laughter.

Ten-year-old Shannon Johnson Elementary student Nikea Banther said the information she heard during Thursday’s seminar left her feeling “shocked.”

“I didn’t know that so many people are killed every week because of tobacco,” she said. “I’m going to tell my friends not to smoke cigarettes, chew tobacco or anything because it could harm them.”

Erica Burdette, a 16-year-old student at Madison Central High School and a member of the Richmond Predestinarian Baptist Church, said she knew tobacco was bad for you, but did not know there were so many negative effects about the drug.

“My friends and I have all agreed that tobacco is really bad,” she said. “I also couldn’t believe what’s actually in it, how much it’s being sold and how many people use it.”

The Madison County Community Partnership hosts different events about substance abuse prevention each year, said representative Mike MacMahan.

“We do this through a variety of different by tying different sectors of the community together,” he said. “There are a number of ways that people can get involved. It could be through the business community, youth service organizations, the faith community or through schools.”

Call 624-3622, or visit the office at 401 Gibson Lane for more information about the Madison County Community Partnership or to find out how to get involved.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.