To the editor:
This year, we are encouraging all Maine residents to pledge to keep their home smoke-free. Even if smokers aren’t quite ready to quit, promising to keep smoke out of their home can protect the health and welfare of those who live with them and eventually help make quitting easier. Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemical and 40 carcinogens. People in Maine are protected from these deadly toxins in most places — public places, workplaces, restaurants, bars—however they are still being exposed in the place they spend 70 percent of their time — their home. Secondhand smoke is especially dangerous to children, the elderly, and those with respiratory disorders. Children in homes where they are exposed to secondhand smoke are at increased risk of developing ear infections and respiratory tract infections, and are 44 percent more likely to suffer from asthma. Pledging to keep your home smoke-free is a great way to significantly reduce these risks.
Anyone can pledge to keep their home smoke-free by visiting the Smoke-Free Housing Coalition of Maine’s website at www.smokefreeforme.org and clicking on the ”Take the Smoke-Free Pledge!” icon. Also, visit the Coalition’s site to learn more about smoke-free housing, including a registry of over 1,985 available smoke-free rental units throughout Maine.
If you are interested in learning about quitting, or would like additional information regarding tobacco-free living, please contact Power of Prevention, your local Healthy Maine Partnership, at 207-834-3195 ext 3609 or 3619. You may also call the Maine Tobacco Helpline at 1-800-297-1230.
Kimberly Boucher, district tobacco coordinator
Power of Prevention