RIAFP Policy
Brief: 12/1/00
Tobacco and
Smoking
Smoking is the
number one cause of preventable death; leading to more premature deaths
than AIDS, alcohol, homicides, suicides, motor vehicle accidents,
fires and drugs combined. More than 430,000 Americans die each year
from smoking and 4,000 youth initiate smoking each year.
A tobacco-free
Rhode Island is one in which:
1. Young people are prevented from initiating tobacco use;
2. The health care system and the culture helps smokers to quit
smoking; and
3. Nonsmokers are protected from all exposure to environmental
tobacco smoke.
The Rhode Island Academy of Family Physicians opposes all forms of
tobacco advertising, including advertising in newspapers, magazines,
at sporting events and on billboards.
We urge all physicians
to counsel patients to quit smoking; we support health insurance coverage
for smoking cessation programs, and we promote community activism
and education through programs like TAR WARS.
We call for the
limitation of youth access to tobacco products by enforcement of age-at-sale
for tobacco purchases and the removal of all tobacco vending machines.
This is one
in a series of reports designed to advance Family Practice and primary
care in Rhode Island's health care system, as well as to discuss public
health issues of importance to all Rhode Islanders.
We welcome
the opportunity to further discuss the issues presented here. We can
be reached by phone at 401-453-4176, or by email at info@riafp.org.
11/27/00
