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A RESOLUTION recognizing May 31 as World No Tobacco Day.
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WHEREAS, the Member States of the World Health Organization created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes, and
WHEREAS, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in King County and in the United States, and
WHEREAS, each year in King County, an estimated one thousand seven hundred eighty adults die from smoking-related causes, and
WHEREAS, tobacco use in King County results in $343.1 million in healthcare costs and lost wages every year, and
WHEREAS, tobacco use disproportionately affects residents of King County; low income, minority, immigrant, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations and residents with no more than a high school education report much-higher tobacco use rates than other populations in the county, and
WHEREAS, the 2012 Surgeon General's Report on Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults indicates that sustained multi-component campaigns including smoke-free public places and efforts to establish smoke-free social norms are effective in reducing the initiation, prevalence and intensity of smoking among youth and young adults, and
WHEREAS, tobacco prevention and control is a key component of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant with goals of reducing adult tobacco use, reducing youth tobacco initiation, reducing secondhand smoke exposure and reducing inequities related to tobacco use, and
WHEREAS, the 2012 Surgeon General's Report on Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults indicates that adolescents and young adults are uniquely vulnerable to influences to use tobacco including whether youth perceive tobacco use as normative or acceptable, and
WHEREAS, a comprehensive tobacco prevention and control strategy incorporating community interventions including local policies and reinforcing social norms is a best practice identified by the 2007 Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs guide by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and
WHEREAS, parks play an important role in contributing to the health and well-being of communities by offering low-cost opportunities for physical activity, and are often used by youth organizations such as the YMCA for after-school and summer programs, and
WHEREAS, the cities of Auburn, Black Diamond, Bothell, Burien, Covington, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Seattle, Shoreline, Snoqualmie, Woodinville, and the Vashon parks district, have implemented tobacco-free or smoke-free parks policies to protect their park lands, modeling healthy behavior for users and reinforcing the message that parks are safe and healthy places for residents to be active;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Health of King County:
The Board of Health recognizes May 31 as World No Tobacco Day, a day proclaimed by the World Health Organization, raising awareness of the dangers of tobacco use and encouraging tobacco cessation and prevention.