Jazmyn Owens
Blue & White Flash / Staff Writer
People who smoke are often outside buildings puffing away, while non-smokers sometimes wonder if they know that deaths from lung cancer increase daily.
Lung Cancer Awareness Month is officially recognized during November. According to the American Lung Association (ALA), more people die from lung cancer than any other type of cancer. The ALA reports that the poisons in tobacco smoke can cause sudden blood clots, heart attacks and strokes. These poisons disrupt the way your body heals itself. Even smoking a cigarette now and then is enough to hurt you. Simply sitting in a smoky bar and inhaling second hand smoke raises your odds of a heart attack.
Despite the health issues and the fact that smoking is prohibited in auditoriums, classrooms, lecture halls, dining areas, residence halls, gyms, offices, and all other buildings at Jackson State University, many students feel that smoking is a personal choice.
Trisha Mack, a junior mass communications major from Brooklyn, NY, said: “I feel that smoking is harmful to those who are oblivious to the poisons in tobacco. I am a strong three-year non-smoker and I feel wonderful. I didn’t know or understand what I was doing to myself. I feel free and I love it.”
Jamie Sudan, a freshman political science major from Port Gibson, Miss., said: “Honestly, I feel that nothing is wrong with smoking. If a person doesn’t smoke every day or have urges, then nothing major will happen to their bodies. If you ask me, if a person can go through weeks without picking up a cigarette, they have already over powered the system of addiction.”
Jenilyn Saul, a sophomore theatre major from Laplace, La., said: “I feel the health risks are very real considering that I am a smoker. I do smoke, but I am my ignorant to the consequences of smoking which is why I am going to quit.”
According to the Mississippi Department of Health, tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the United States. In this state, 4,700 adults die each year from smoking and 192,000 children are exposed to secondhand smoke at home. The state health statistics reveal that treatment of tobacco-related diseases costs Mississippi $264 million each year in direct Medicaid costs. The ALA believes that creating awareness about the realities of lung cancer through education and support will help create a sense of need that will bring lung cancer to the forefront.
Jacqueline Carter, director of the Tobacco-Free Coalition of Hinds County, hopes that education, laws against smoking in public places and awareness about the risks of smoking will combat these beliefs.
“This legislation has been a great thing for Mississippi students because not only does it alleviate some of the peer pressure they experience from their classmates to try tobacco products, it also limits some of their exposure to secondhand smoke,” said Carter.
Kellie Lamb, an Ocean Springs, Miss. native, has been pushing for a smoke free Jackson County and would like to see smokers in Jackson County put their cigarettes out. She would also like to see smokeless tobacco users throw away the can or pouch. Lamb, the health promotions coordinator for the Mississippi Tobacco Free Coalition for Jackson County, said her mission of educating the public about the health risks of using tobacco is more than a job. Her desire is to see all counties in Mississippi become completely smoke free.
“Everyone deserves to breathe smoke-free air,” said Lamb. “There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.”
The most effective smoke-free ordinance a city can have is one that eliminates secondhand smoke in all public places. The ALA also currently supports the development of a noninvasive blood test to detect early lung cancer, the design of a lung cancer vaccine to induce immune response, learning the mechanisms that determine how healthy lung cells turn cancerous, the prevention of people with COPD from getting lung cancer, and various studies to find better treatments for lung cancer patients.
Quitting smoking is the single most important step a smoker can take to reduce their risk for lung cancer. It can be tough but smokers don’t have to quit alone.
