Kimbly Wade: Tobacco prevention, cessation programs need funding in state budget

To The Daily Sun,

Nicotine use has a devastating impact on the financial and physical wellbeing of Granite Staters. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the nation, with non-smokers typically outliving smokers by a decade. Currently, more than 16 million Americans live with a disease caused by smoking. Smoking damages nearly every organ and is associated with heart disease, stroke, respiratory, diabetes, and multiple types of cancer.

It is vital that we educate and encourage people to be smoke-free from a young age. I write to strongly urge lawmakers to support tobacco prevention and cessation programs within the New Hampshire state budget. Prevention efforts and cessation outreach are crucial to ensuring youth and young adults never start using tobacco products and that those currently using have access to proven programs and reliable resources to end their dependence on nicotine completely.

According to the CDC, evidence-based, statewide tobacco control programs have been shown to reduce the number of people who smoke, as well as tobacco-related diseases and deaths. For every dollar spent on tobacco prevention, states can reduce tobacco-related health care expenditures and hospitalizations by up to $55. Smoking is estimated to cost the U.S. between $132.5 and $175.9 billion for medical expenses as well as $151 billion in lost productivity due to premature death every year.

In recent years, there has been an increase in popularity of e-cigarettes, especially among youth. Several lung injuries associated with e-cigarette use have been reported. Many contain nicotine and other cancer-causing chemicals. By including funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs within the NH state budget, legislators will be showing Granite Staters that they wish to secure a future that is smoke-free and without dependency on tobacco in any of its forms or usage. They would also be ensuring the long-term health and wellbeing of the state as fewer and fewer NH residents will need to endure mounting medical and healthcare costs and businesses would have a healthier workforce. Legislators have the ability to make this an actuality in NH’s future by making the investment to prevention today.

Kimbly Wade

Director of Prevention Strategies, Partnership for Public Health