Smoking rates in the Northwoods continue to be holding stubbornly as reported in a recent study.
UW-Milwaukee Center for Urban Population Health looked at the number of lives taken by tobacco use in Oneida county, showing 78 persons per year died in Oneida county from 2011-2015.
Corie Zelazoski of the Oneida County Health Department says two key categories were highlighted...
"....our smoking rate is 16.7 which is slightly lower than the state rate at 17 percent, but 22 percent of women smoking during pregnancy is very high..."
Zelazoski says they have a program for pregnant women who smoke...
"....we do offer programs at the health department specifically for pregnant moms who are using tobacco during their pregnancy...it's called the "First Breath" program, and we would like to get that information out to the public that it is available here at the health department..."
For more information on the First Breath program, visit the website wwhf.org/first breath.
The Northwoods Tobacco-Free Coalition is working with retailers to educate local and state leaders about prevention and control efforts within the community. The same group also coordinated the Rhinelander FACT group, a youth group focusing on education peers about the dangers of tobacco.
