Lane County Public Health Department

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Tobacco Prevention & Education Program

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General Information
The Lane County Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP) helps support and educate local people, businesses, organizations, and schools.  The program assists in creating successful tobacco policies and programs.  It also provides information to people who want to quit using tobacco.  Program staff helps to make sure people know about and follow the rules of the Oregon Clean Indoor Air Act and other local laws on tobacco and smoking.  The laws protect people from secondhand smoke and make it harder for youth to buy tobacco products.

Links on this Page
History & Goals
Making a Difference
Tobacco-Free Lane County Coalition
Filing a Complaint
Resources to Help you Quit
Health Consequences
Secondhand Smoke
Guides to Smoke-free Restaurants and Bars
Further Information
Contact

Program History and Goals
The TPEP at LCPH is supported by grant funds from the statewide Oregon TPEP.  The program was launched in 1997 with a clear and simple goal - to reduce tobacco-related illness and death. To reach this goal the program focuses on:

1. reducing exposure to secondhand smoke by creating smoke-free environments,
2. decreasing youth access to and initiation of tobacco use, and
3. increasing access to cessation services. 

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The TPEP is Making a Difference
In the Willamette Valley Region, the percentage of 8^th & 11^th graders who report smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days has decreased dramatically. 

• In 1998 22% of 8^th graders and 33% of 11^th graders reported using tobacco in some form; in 2005 that rate fell to 9% of 8^th graders and 15% of 11^th graders.
• In Oregon, the number of homes that allow smoking has decreased 41% in the past seven years.
• Since 1996, per capita cigarette consumption in Oregon has declined 42%, almost twice the national decline.
• 75% of Oregon ’s smokers want to quit - Since the Oregon Quit Line began in 1998, it has helped over 30,000 people from all over Oregon , serving an average of 300 callers per month.

But there is still work to be done - every year in Lane County…

• 683 people die from tobacco use.
• 13,349 people suffer from a serious illness caused by tobacco use.
• $75.9 million is spent on medical care for tobacco-related illnesses.
• $77.7 million is lost from decreased productivity due to tobacco-related disability and death.
• 1850 employees (estimated) working in LaneCounty are not protected by Oregon ’s Smoke free Workplace Law or Eugene City Ordinance #18721.

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Collaboration with Tobacco-Free Lane County Coalition
TPEP supports a community-based Tobacco-Free Lane County Coalition which consists of community partners including: restaurant and bar employees and employers, the Lane County Medical Society, and local advocates. 

• The work of the coalition has resulted in several major accomplishments.
• Educational campaign
• Community Support and Advocacy
• Policy initiated - Clean Indoor Air ordinance (Eugene Code sections 6.230 to 6.240 and Administrative Order 21-05-08-F). 
• Advocated for the passage of tobacco retailer licensing laws in the cities of Eugene, Springfield and Oakridge to reduce youth access to tobacco.
• Partnered with the University of Oregon Student Health Center and concerned students to eliminate tobacco product sales on the UO campus.
• Recently the Coalition collaborated with the Lane County Medical Society to advocate for the passage of a 100% smoke-free hospital campus policy at PeaceHealth Oregon Region which will go into effect in November of 2006. 

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Filing a Complaint

To file a complaint about smoking in Eugene:

• Smoking complaints are handled by the Zoning & Nuisance Administration within the Planning & Development Department for the City of Eugene.
• Complaints regarding smoking violations must be submitted in writing. You may submit your complaint on-line via the website; or you may mail it to the Permit and Information Center, 99 West 10th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon97401; or fax it to (541) 682-6806.
• To file a complaint online go to: City of Eugene Zoning & Nuisance Administration Website
• For information about filing a complaint in Eugene , call (541) 682-5819

To file a complaint about smoking outside of Eugene inother areas of Lane County:

• In areas outside of Eugene, the Oregon Indoor Clean Air Act prohibits smoking in most enclosed areas of employment except bars, bowling alleys, and bingo halls.  Smoking is prohibited in private homes when there is a child care facility, a facility providing adult day care or a health care facility present in the home.
• Smoking complaints can be filed online at the Oregon Department of Human Services Tobacco Prevention & Education
• For more information about filing a complaint outside of Eugene call 1-866-621-6107
• If you have questions about filing a complaint please contact LCPH Tobacco Prevention & Education Program at 541-682-4280.

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Resources to Help You Quit
Resources to help quit smoking are available through the Oregon Tobacco Quit Line at 1-877-270-STOP;

1-877-2NO-FUME (Spanish); TTY: 1-877-777-6534.

Online Cessation (quitting) resources:

• Oregon Quit Line
• American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Quitting
• American Lung Association's Freedom from Smoking® Online
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevent: How to Quit
• Surgeon General’s Smoking Cessation Consumer Tools Kit
• Smokeless Tobacco: Tips on How to Stop from the American Academy of Family Physicians

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Health Consequences

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fact Sheets
• Health Consequences of Smoking on the Human Body
• Nicotine Addiction
• Cigarette Smoking & Cancer
• Tobacco & Oral Health
• Smokeless Tobacco

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Secondhand Smoke

• The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General , June 2006
• Secondhand Smoke and Your Family
• Smoking and the Workplace
• Oregon Air Monitoring Project

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Guides to Smoke-free Restaurants and Bars

• SmokefreeOregon.com

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Further Information

Oregon 

• Oregon Tobacco Facts Report
• 2003-2005 Tobacco Prevention & Education Program Report
• Oregon’s Smokefree Workplace Law

National

• Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States: Current Estimates
• Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups
• People with Disabilities
• Women and Tobacco
• Youth and Tobacco Use: Current Estimates
• FASTATS: Smoking - National Center for Health Statistics

Organizations

• American Cancer Society

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Contact

Phone: 541-682-4280
Program Coordinator: Laura Hammond, MPH

LCPH services are available regardless of age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status.  LCPH facilities are wheelchair accessible. LCPH materials are available upon request in alternative formats such as: large print, Braille and other languages.