A price too high on Owatonna

OWATONNA — Bob Stone began smoking at age 15 and has continued for the last 30 years.

He said it’s recently crossed his mind that he should quit. It’s not due to health risks, but the rising costs of cigarettes.

“When you start talking $5 a pack, it gets too expensive,” Stone said.

Statewide, there’s been a decrease in tobacco use among adults, according to results from the the Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey.

According to a survey by ClearWay MinnesotaSM, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health, the adult smoking rate in Minnesota has declined to 17 percent. That figure is down about 5 percent since 1999 and represents 164,000 fewer smokers.

Jane Nyquist, health educator at Steele County Public Health, said she was thrilled about the decline in smoking and said it will help reduce the costs of health care. She said the state pays a bulk of money for smoking-related illnesses.

“Overall, it’s just going to save the state money,” Nyquist said. “It’s going to save employees time away from productivity. And they’re going to have all the health benefits.”

The survey is conducted every four years and is considered the most thorough and accurate source of information about smoking rates, according to the Web site of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. Previous surveys were conducted in 1999 and 2003.

The news also comes as the state gets ready to highlight the one-year anniversary of its Freedom to Breathe Act. The law bans smoking in public areas, places of employment, on public transportation and in public meetings.

Supporters of the law said it protects employees and the general public from secondhand smoke.

Nyquist expected the ban to have an effect

on the decline in smoking, but Stone doesn’t think the ban will make a difference in people’s smoking habits.

“You’re just seeing more of them now because they’re outside,” Stone said.

There are a number of steps local health officials are doing to decrease smoking.

Nyquist said she’s referring people to a Web site called www.quitplan.com, a contest that will offer a daily smoker $5,000 to stay clean and kick the habit the entire month in October.

Owatonna Clinic also offers smoking cessation with Dr. Kellyanna Moore, who specializes in tobacco treatment. Her patients were referred from other health officials, including Owatonna Public Health.

Jeff Cagle can be reached at 444-2378.

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Member Opinions: By: TaxPayer on 9/18/08 If we would just make tobacco an illegal substance we would eventually save ALL the healthcare and other costs related to tobacco use. By: A_Stranger on 9/18/08 That will go over just as well as prohibition did! By: c2000 on 9/18/08 Lets see Clear way, blue cross blue shield and the Mn dept of health conducted the survey,, is it any surprise that the results were favorable.Its in their best interest to show people quitting to legitimize the Freedom to breath act. Most if not all the statistics used to pass that legislation last year were trumped up too. These people could care less if some of the small bars went out of business because alcohol is next on their agenda. By: Gray_Haired_Old_Man on 9/19/08 I like the idea of making tabacco an illegal substance, but then how would the government replace all the revenue tobacco brings in? By: TaxPayer on 9/19/08 That's why they will never let it happen. They'd rather inact laws with cool sounding names like 'The Freedom to Breath Act' to convince us that they 'are really serious' about dealing this problem. The problem is the 'laws of unintended consequences' take over and small businesses & such pay the price and there is very little impact on the real problem. By: NoteTaker on 9/19/08 "I like the idea of making tabacco an illegal substance,..." Please explain why you like the idea. Who stands to gain and why? Thanks. By: Gray_Haired_Old_Man on 9/19/08 If tobacco is as bad they say it is, (and I don't doubt that it is I've lost too many relatives to smoking related heart disease and Lung cancer to believe otherwise) why SHOULD it be legal? it should at least be a controlled substance. Those who benefit would be you and I, the taxpayers and those who pay for health care insurance. And we wouldn't have to deal with these silly laws that dance around the real issue and and cause heart burn and frustration for those who are most impacted by them, which is, more often than not, not the smoker. By: stormchaser27 on 9/19/08 So glad the MN went smoke free. Being able to breathe cleaner air is such a plus in my life. By: TaxPayer on 9/19/08 And it's gotta help defeat global warming, too!! =)}
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