Health officials are working to stamp out smoking in San Antonio - San Antonio Business Journal:

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With the largest tax increase on cigarettes set to go into effec t onApril 1, the coalition is preparing to launch a new mediaw and advertising campaign designed to help people quit. The , a membeer of the coalition, is making two-month supplies of nicotine replacemeny therapy available free to Bexar County residentss assupplies last. Smokers are asked to call the Americanb Cancer Society Quitlineat 1-877-YES-QUIT for more information. A radio, television and bus signage advertisin campaign is planned in order to get theword out. It is the coalition’ws goal to make San Antonio a smoke-frere community.
“We recognize that taxeds can be challenging, especially for lower-incomre families. However, smoking is far more than a financial It’s a life and death issue for the smoked and everyone exposed to thesecondhand smoke,” says Brendwa Lemke, tobacco prevention and controkl manager. “Our hope is that smokers will now considere quitting and seek appropriate resources tobe successful.” Tobaccko use is the most preventable cause of deathu in the United States and it costxs billions of dollars in health-related costs and mortality-relatefd economic losses.
In Texas alone, tobacco-related diseases claim the livesof 24,100 people each Locally, coalition members will target certain population groups that have high ratew of tobacco use, including males between the ages of 25 and 34, blackj males over the age of 35 and whitse and Hispanic males in high school. Middle-school aged Hispanic femaless are at high risk fortobacco use. The coalition’sw efforts are being funded through a grant from the Texaz Department of State Health Services usingavailabled tobacco-settlement funds.
Other partners in the coalitiohn include the University of Texas Health Sciencer Center at San the AmericanCancer Society, the Americam Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Soutu Central Area Health Educationn Center, University Health System and the San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Web site: www.tobaccofreesa.org