A local agency and the Arkansas Department of Health are encouraging people to learn more about the effects of smoking during World No Tobacco Day on Saturday, May 31.
In Pine Bluff, residents are invited to Join the House of Levi for a community wide event in observance of World No Tobacco Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
Booths will be set up with information on tobacco. Speakers will share stories on how tobacco has affected them and the lives of their family.
There will be music played by a DJ and free hot dogs, chips and drinks will be served. The Pine Bluff Fire Department will also be on hand. Details: Contact Carol Mendenhall at 329-2535 or camendenhall904@att.net.
Meanwhile, the health department and the Stamp Out Smoking project are encouraging Arkansas tobacco users to observe World No Tobacco Day and quit smoking by calling the Arkansas Tobacco Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The World Health Organization (WHO) holds World No Tobacco Day annually to raise awareness of the harms of tobacco, the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry and resources available to help people quit.
For World No Tobacco Day 2014, the WHO and partners call on countries to raise taxes on tobacco, saying that research shows higher taxes are effective in reducing tobacco use among lower-income groups and in preventing young people from starting to smoke.
“Arkansans benefit from increased excise taxes because they directly increase cigarette prices, which reduce cigarette use and smoking-related death and disease,” Dr. Gary Wheeler, medical director for the Arkansas Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, said.
“What remains troubling is the availability of low-priced and less regulated alternative tobacco products, such as cigars and flavored cigarillos, which have led some cigarette smokers to switch to these products. This switch to less regulated tobacco products diminishes the public health impact of excise tax increases and regulation, ultimately hampering efforts that not only prevent youth from starting to smoke, but also reduce overall tobacco use,” Wheeler said.