Pictured - Miller County Commissioner Bo Haywood accepts a plaque of recognition on behalf of the Commission for their tobacco control efforts from Cancer Coalition CEO Diane Fletcher.

Miller County continues to take stand against tobacco
Miller County Hospital, Miller County Board of Commissioners, adopt Tobacco-Free policies

Public areas in Miller County where smoking and smokeless tobacco are allowed are becoming few and far between, and community leaders who have taken a stand against tobacco use for the better health of their community were saluted recently before the Miller County Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

The Miller County Tobacco Coalition and the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition recognized Miller County Hospital and the Miller County Board of Commissioners for their adoption of 100% Tobacco Free policies that prohibit tobacco use by any individual utilizing their properties. The Miller County School System adopted a Tobacco Free policy last year.

“We are pleased to recognize these leaders in tobacco control in Miller County, and are confident that their actions will encourage others to take a stand in protecting the health of Miller County citizens,” said Diane Fletcher, CEO of the Southwest Georgia Cancer Coalition. “Miller County has the second highest lung cancer incidence rate in the southwest public health district, and suffers an age-adjusted lung cancer death rate that is sixty-five percent higher than the state average, so, clearly, what these leaders are doing is vitally important and will make a difference.”

The county-wide policy adopted by the Miller County Board of Commissioners prohibits tobacco use in all buildings, vehicles and grounds owned or leased by Miller County, and the hospital now prohibits tobacco use by all employees, visitors, vendors and patients.

“Smoking on the job leads to lost productivity, not only in smoke breaks, but smokers have more respiratory infections and colds that last longer than those who don’t smoke,” Miller County Tobacco Coalition Chairman and Spring Creek Health Cooperative Director Sheila Freeman told the group during their monthly meeting. “And smoking on the job, like all other places, not only affects the smoker, but the non-smoker who inhales the second hand smoke. With the lung cancer incidence rate as high as it is in Miller County, we knew action needed to be taken.”

It was in 2009, with funding by the GA Dept of Community Health, that the Cancer Coalition embarked on a tobacco control program in Miller County, partnering with local organizations – The Southwest Georgia Public Health District, Spring Creek Health Cooperative, Miller County Health Department, and Miller County Family Connection – to conduct a community wide assessment with the help of Mercer University.

The assessment revealed that in 2005 and 2006, Miller County had lung cancer-related hospital discharge rates double the state average, that 13% of women in Miller County continued to smoke during pregnancy, also nearly twice the state average, and that two out of every 10 youth currently smoke – 50% of which started smoking before the age of 15. According to the assessment, the highest smoking rates in the county are among white women and white men 40 to 49 years of age.

According to Denise Ballard, vice-president of Cancer Prevention and Control for the Cancer Coalition, the group reviewed this information and “got to work to devise a strategic plan to combat these shocking statistics. These kind of policy changes are highly effective in preventing tobacco use among young people, encouraging smokers to quit, and protecting citizens from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.” The first thing concerned organizations did was form the Miller County Tobacco Coalition which, along with the above groups, involves the voices of tobacco-related disease survivors, area youth, and other community leaders. The Miller County Chamber of Commerce also is represented on the Tobacco Coalition.

In support of individuals trying to give up tobacco use, the group has offered smoking cessation classes, and a special Youth Tobacco Summit will be held March 19 to teach area youth leadership skills in advocating for tobacco-free communities.

“We encourage Miller County businesses who do not yet have a 100% tobacco free policy to consider adopting one, and we would be happy to help them with that,” added Freeman. Businesses who already have such policies can contact Freeman at 229-726-0089 to receive recognition and signage to promote that they are tobacco-free.