Toll-Free Tobacco Quitline

• Approximately 18 percent of Kansas Women smoke cigarettes, about 243,000 women.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in Kansas. Every year, nearly 4,000 Kansans die from diseases that are directly linked to tobacco usage.
• Tobacco-related illnesses in Kansas are responsible for more than $720 million in medical expenditures each year.
• The state spends $153 million in Medicaid costs to treat tobacco-related illnesses and more than $800 million in lost productivity costs are directly related to tobacco use in Kansas each year.
• Tobacco users typically begin the habit in early adolescence. Almost all first time use occurs prior to high school graduation.
• In Kansas, an average of 1,400 women die from smoking related diseases each year.
• An estimated 500 Kansas women die from cancers that are caused by tobacco use and another 500 die from heart diseases caused by smoking this year alone. More than 400 will die from bronchitis, emphysema and other respiratory diseases.

According to the 2002 Kansas Youth Tobacco survey:

• Currently 29 percent of high school students report using at least one form of tobacco. This includes cigarettes, spit or smokeless tobacco, cigars, pipes, and other forms of novel smoked tobacco.
• In Kansas, nearly 21 percent of girls in grades 9-12 are current smokers. More than half of those smokers report they want to quit.
• Cigarette smoking is reported by 21 percent of high school students.

Other Facts:

• The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates 550 Kansas youth become regular smokers each month.
• The Adult Tobacco Survey shows that 1 in 5 adults in Kansas are smokers and nearly 30 percent of Kansans use some form of tobacco.
• Ninety percent of all lung cancer deaths in women smokers are attributable to smoking.* Since 1950, lung cancer deaths among women have increased by more than 600 percent. By 1987, lung cancer had surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Cigarette smoking increases the risk for infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
• Studies show tobacco manufacturer’s target women. From a recent Harvard Study: According to the Harvard School of Public Health, the research team found the products exploited false health notions about the relative safety of light cigarettes; matched female taste preferences through flavored, smooth and mild-tasting cigarettes; and targeted physiological and inhalation differences between women and men with greater ease of draw, increased sensory pleasure and altered tar and nicotine levels. The documents also show that cigarette makers went so far as to explore the use of appetite suppressants in cigarettes to promote smoking-mediated weight control, according to the researchers.
• Ten “Treating Tobacco Use During Pregnancy and Beyond” workshops are being held across Kansas. These workshops are providing healthcare professionals with information regarding the Toll-free Kansas Tobacco Quitline, tobacco use during pregnancy, and the tools and techniques that can be implemented into a busy practice to promote tobacco cessation.
• The toll-free Kansas Tobacco Quitline, 1-866-KAN STOP is a useful and effective tool for tobacco users who are ready to quit! Kansas Tobacco Quitline (1-866-KAN-STOP) is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Experienced cessation counselors work with the caller to prepare for a quit date and help them make a personalized quit plan

* U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health; 2001. Accessed: May 2004.