TV Ad Tells Powerful Personal Story About the Harm of Secondhand Smoke

TV Ad Tells Powerful Personal Story About the Harm of Secondhand Smoke

Heather Crowe's Story Reinforces the Importance of Comprehensive Smoke-Free Ordinances

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The harmful effects of secondhand smoke are increasingly known to Minnesotans, and new advertising will put a real face on just how serious exposure to secondhand smoke can be: deadly.

Starting today, the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco (MPAAT) will air television and radio commercials statewide about Heather Crowe, a 60-year-old Canadian woman who never smoked a day in her life, but spent her entire career working as a waitress in a smoke-filled establishment. Crowe is now dying from lung cancer -- a result of her exposure to secondhand smoke. These commercials are part of MPAAT's on-going statewide media campaign to educate Minnesotans about the dangers of secondhand smoke.

The ad was developed and originally aired in Canada in the fall of 2002 as part of a mass media campaign sponsored by Health Canada. The public's broad concern for Crowe's story encouraged her to launch her own campaign to create smoke-free workplace laws throughout Canada. Her work has led to widespread changes to Canadian labor laws that now better protect workers from secondhand smoke. "I want to be the last person to die from exposure to secondhand smoke at work," she has said.

"There is tremendous value in sharing Heather Crowe's story with Minnesotans," said David Willoughby, MPAAT Chief Executive Officer. "Research tells us that secondhand smoke is incredibly harmful, and personal stories like Heather's reinforce the fact that secondhand smoke is much more than inconvenient or bothersome. Unfortunately, despite all we know about its harm, Minnesota's hospitality employees still have significantly less protection from secondhand smoke exposure than most other Minnesota workers."

According to the Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey conducted in 1999-2003, 82 percent of Minnesotans who work outside the hospitality industry report working in smoke-free environments. That is in stark contrast to the only 5 percent of bar workers who report working in a smoke-free environment.

Secondhand smoke has been linked to many diseases, including lung cancer, heart disease and asthma. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that secondhand smoke contains a mix of more than 4,000 chemicals, of which more than 11 are considered cancer-causing. Exposure to secondhand smoke is responsible for up to 3,000 lung cancer deaths and at least 35,000 coronary heart disease deaths each year.

Reducing tobacco use is crucial for improving the health of all Minnesotans. Each year in Minnesota tobacco use causes more than 5,600 deaths and is estimated to cost $2 billion in health care costs.

For more information on Heather Crowe's story visit http://www.smoke-free.ca/heathercrowe/heathers-story.htm .

MPAAT is an independent, non-profit organization that improves the health of Minnesotans by reducing the harm caused by tobacco. MPAAT serves Minnesota through its grant-making program, QUITPLAN(SM) stop-smoking services and statewide outreach activities. It is funded with three percent of the State's 1998 tobacco settlement.

Source: Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco

CONTACT: Kerri Gordon, Public Relations Manager of MPAAT,
+1-952-767-1403

Web site: http://www.smoke-free.ca/heathercrowe/heathers-story.htm

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