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My Vaping Mistake

A Winnable Battle

We know how to win the fight against tobacco. Science and experience have identified proven, cost-effective strategies that prevent kids from using tobacco, help those who use tobacco to quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke and secondhand aerosol. These strategies include:

  • Higher tobacco taxes
  • Smoke-Free Policy in work and public places
  • Well-funded programs, including mass media campaigns that prevent kids from starting to use tobacco and will help adults quit. 
  • Regulations of the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of tobacco products. 
  • Decrease minors' access to tobacco 
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death.

Tobacco Related Disparities 

The populations impacted by tobacco-related disparities are diverse. 

  • 16% of Wisconsin residents smoke. 
  • 1 in 3 smokers deal with mental illness. 
  • Wisconsin adult smoking rates among LGBTQ is 26%. National studeies suggest LGBTQ youth smoke up to twice as much as heterosexual youth.
  • In Wisconsin, 12% of women report smoking during pregnancy. 
  • Adult Wisconsin Native Americans smoke at a 31% rate compared to the general population at 17%.
  • 32% of Wisconsin adults have an annual income of less than $15,000. 
  • In Wisconsin from 2014-2016, African Americans smoked at much higher rates of 31% compared to the general population at 17%.
  • People with substance use disorders who smoke are much more likely to die from their tobacco use than from their drug or alcohol addiction. 

Secondhand Smoke

There is no safe level of secondhand smoke.

Being in a smoky room for even a short time (15-30 minutes) causes your blood platelets to stick together and damages the lining of your blood vessels. In your heart, these changes can be deadly.

Breathing in secondhand smoke at home or work increases the risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and increases the chance of getting lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent.