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Chronic Disease

Goal 1. Increase access to healthier lifestyle choices in the community

Current Value

3.60%

HY2 2020

Definition

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Story Behind the Curve

More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. However, tobacco use by adolescents and young adults has declined substantially over the past 40 years. In 2018, only 3.6 percent of high school seniors identified as a daily smoker, and 7.6 percent had smoked within the past 30 days. Furthermore, adolescents’ use of smoking products is evolving. In 2014 and for the first time in history, more teenagers used electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes) than smoked tobacco cigarettes. This trend continued in 2018, as more high school students used e-cigarettes or similar devices to vape (i.e., inhale vapors that include nicotine) than smoked tobacco cigarettes. These products pose a set of new challenges, as they are known to be harmful but their health impact is not yet fully understood.

Tobacco use remains the number one cause of preventable deaths in the United States. It is critical that efforts to prevent and reduce teen smoking continue, as the stakes could not be higher. On average, smokers die at least 10 years earlier than non-smokers and, every day, more than 1,200 people in the United States die from smoking-related causes. Almost 90 percent of those who die from smoking-related causes began using tobacco products at or prior to age 18. The Surgeon General estimates that if all the evidence-based youth anti-tobacco strategies were implemented, smoking among high school students would decline by more than 50 percent by 2020.

Partners

  • Stark County Healthy Lifestyles Coalition
  • LiveWell Stark County
  • StarkFresh

What Works

The strategies used to address this indicator were met. Due to the pandemic and pandemic response, this indicator was not able to be measured.

Strategy

To reduce the instance of tobacco use by adolescents in the community, CCPH plans to form a coalition that aims to bring Tobacco-21 legislation to the city and to work with our community partners to increase the number of tobacco free outdoor areas in the city. CCPH also plans to work with community partners to increase access to fresh food choices in areas identified as food deserts.

Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.

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