- April 26, 2024
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Almost half of the 2016 deaths of Volusia County tobacco users in were attributed to tobacco-related disease, according to a public health data brief released by the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County. The report indicates that the majority of the tobacco-related deaths were caused by lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
In Port Orange there was a total of 851 deaths and 107 tobacco-related deaths in 2016, meaning tobacco-related deaths accounted for 12.6% of all deaths in Port Orange.
Of the tobacco-related deaths in Port Orange 64.5% were attributed to lung cancer.
During the same year, Ormond Beach had 87 tobacco-related deaths were recorded with 50.6% of tobacco-related deaths attributed to lung cancer.
Secondhand smoke
Kristen Mialki, Tobacco Program manager for the DOH, said what people should also be aware of is the effects of secondhand smoke exposure, which the DOH reported has caused around 41,000 deaths per year.
"It doesn't matter if you're not smoking that cigarette, you're still getting those toxic chemicals," Mialki said. "We need to educate people."
Mialki also pointed out that there two types of secondhand smoke: mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke.
The first is smoke exhaled by a smoker and the second is from the lighted end of a cigarette or any other product that emits tobacco. According to Mialki, if an individual leaves a cigarette that is still burning in an ash tray the smoke being inhaled by an individual nearby is breathing in the same amount of chemicals as if they were smoking it.
The addiction
"Over 70 percent of people who smoke want to quit," Mialki said. "Nicotine is so addictive, moreso than cocaine and heroine. I don't think people understand how addictive it is."
A study published in the Nicotine and Tobacco Research journal in 2014 found that nicotine within cigarettes increased by about 15% from 1999 to 2011. Mialki said the increase has been happening for around the last 50 years.
However, Mialki noted that counseling partnered with medication has been proven to be the most effective way to quite smoking.
Smokeout
On Thursday, Nov. 16, the American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout will take place to help people quite smoking and promote healthier lifestyles. The day is meant to provide a time for anyone who smokes to make a plan to quite or stop smoking that day.
