Years ago, people were unaware of the toll tobacco was taking on their health. Today, we know tobacco is the only product sold in the United States when used as intended, kills its purchasers. Each year, tobacco use kills more than 425,000 Americans – more than 19,000 of them in Illinois.

Tobacco is the second most heavily advertised product in the nation, with the tobacco industry spending in excess of $7 billion dollars annually to market its deadly products. That’s more than $18 million each day! In Illinois alone, tobacco companies spend more than $288 million annually on consumer advertising.

Does this advertising work? Yes, particularly with young smokers. Two years after R.J. Reynolds introduced its advertising character “Joe Camel,” Camel® cigarettes saw a 6,000 percent increase in younger smokers and a $400 million increase in sales.

If advertising is what lures young smokers to tobacco – addiction is what keeps them smoking, often well into adulthood. No one disputes the simple fact that it’s tough to quit smoking. Nicotine, a key component of tobacco smoke, is one of the most physically addicting substances on earth. So, it’s no wonder, despite overwhelming evidence of the physical and economic costs of tobacco use, too many Illinoisans continue to use this deadly substance.

This Web site presents facts about tobacco and resources available to help you (or those you love) quit smoking.

East Side Health District’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Efforts:

Promoting cessation:
The Illinois Tobacco Quit Line provides one on one phone counseling and support for smokers. They provide smokers with encouragement and a personalized plan to help the person quit smoking. The services are “FREE” of charge. By calling 1-866 QUIT YES, a door is open to discuss health issues and quitting smoking with registered nurses, respiratory therapists, and smoking cessation counselors.

American Lung Association

Freedom From Smoking
East Side Health District has partnered with the American Lung Association to offer the leading smoking cessation program, Freedom From Smoking. The course is only eight sessions. Participants will learn how to create a personalized plan to overcome tobacco addictions and start enjoying a healthier lifestyle. Classes are held in-group settings to offer participants a support system. The services are “FREE” of charge. Freedom From smoking online support

Freedom From Smoking® Online

Take the Smoke-free Homes Pledge:
By taking the pledge, you:

• Choose not to smoke in your home and do not permit others to do so. Small children are especially vulnerable to the health effects of secondhand smoke.
• Choose to smoke outside, if you must smoke. Moving to another room or opening a window is not enough to protect your children.
• Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of secondhand smoke because they are still developing physically, have higher breathing rates than adults, and have little control over their indoor environments.
• Children exposed to high doses of secondhand smoke, such as those whose mothers smoke, run the greatest relative risk of experiencing damaging health effects.

For more information contact Illinois Tobacco Free Comminutes Coordinator Latasha Addision at  618-271-8722 ext. 115 or  khicks@eshd.org

Funded by a grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Submit Complain
As of January 1, 2008, individuals can file a complaint by calling the Illinois Department of Public Health’s toll-free complaint line at  866-973-4646 (TTY 800-547-0466, hearing impaired use only) or online through  Smoke-free Illinois.