Is tobacco still a problem in 2020? There are a lot of dangerous substances and addictions in the world today, many emerging in popularity for the first time. Because of that, many people are disillusioned into thinking that old school tobacco isn’t much of a problem anymore as it was a few decades ago. After all,the warning labels have been added to all product packaging; and most people know of at least one family member or friend who suffered from a disease caused by prolonged tobacco use. The information is definitely out there about the dangers and consequences. So surely, tobacco use should be declining drastically, right?

At 24/7, we work hard to help New Mexico school districts adopt, implement and enforce comprehensive tobacco-free policies that will keep the influence of tobacco away from schools twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. However, we know that around 90% of adult smokers began smoking before they were 18 years old. Addiction starts now, and it’s our job to help the next generation stay healthy and focus on making the most of their futures. Check out our website for more information on the work we are doing, request tobacco-free signs for your school campus and join our fight to keep tobacco out of schools!

If you’re not convinced that tobacco is still a major problem in today’s world, we’ve collected information from several key reports that demonstrate the massive influence that these products still have on our society. What’s even more alarming is how young people are quickly becoming addicts themselves, unaware of the huge effects that vaping, chew and other nicotine products can have on their health.

• A National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) posted on December 15,2019 stated that an estimated 6.2 million U.S. middle and high school students used tobacco products in 2019 – with e-cigarettes being the most commonly used product. This breaks down to 1 in 3 high school students (4.7 million) and about 1 in 8middle school students (1.5 million).

• The WHO 2019 Global Tobacco Report claimed that there are around 1.1 billion adult tobacco users in the world – 367 million of which are using smokeless tobacco products.

• The WHO report also shared that “Nicotine is so addictive that the autonomy of a quarter of teens starts to diminish after smoking just three or four cigarettes, and after smoking five packs, nearly 60% are dependent.”

• According to the 2020 Smoking Cessation Report from the Surgeon General, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S., representing nearly 1 in 5 deaths.

• The same report above states that smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, affects a person’s overall health and can cause cancer nearly anywhere in the body.

• In the latest CDC report on February 25, 2020, there have been 2,807 hospitalization cases or deaths from E-cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) reported in all 50 United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In a future blog post, we’ll be sharing the benefits associated with quitting tobacco, and our hope is that our message will prevent minors from ever beginning a tobacco addiction.

If you’d like help to quit tobacco use today, you can get started by calling the Tobacco Quit Line: 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669).

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