Kansas County with Comprehensive Tobacco Prevention Program has 100 Percent
Compliance in Recent Check

In Saline County, where a comprehensive tobacco prevention program has been implemented, the county has reason to be proud. A recent compliance check to determine if retail establishments would sell cigarettes to minors, resulted in no sales despite 13 attempts by youth to purchase tobacco products.

"We can talk all we want about reducing the use of tobacco, especially by our children," said Governor Kathleen Sebelius, "but no other county has done the kind of job that Saline County has. It's a great model for communities across the state."

"Saline County has taken many positive steps to reduce tobacco use among youth including implementing a comprehensive tobacco prevention program, and passing a ban on smoking in restaurants," said KDHE Secretary Roderick L. Bremby. "The community's focus on tobacco prevention appears to have had a positive impact on retailers as well."

Saline County is the only county in the state in which tobacco prevention is funded at recommended levels. This includes helping people quit using tobacco, eliminating secondhand smoke, preventing youth from beginning tobacco use, enforcing current tobacco laws, running successful media campaigns and addressing how tobacco use affects different segments of the population. KDHE operates the Tobacco Use Prevention Program and provides grant funding to communities to prevent tobacco use and for the Tobacco Quitline to help Kansans quit their tobacco addiction.

"Tobacco use is an addiction that is very hard to stop," Bremby said. "It is crucial that we make it hard for minors to start."

In Kansas, it is against the law to sell tobacco to anyone under age 18. The federal government requires states to monitor retailer compliance in an effort to restrict the sale of tobacco products to minors. The ABC, a division of the Kansas Department of Revenue, conducts random inspections of licensed tobacco vendors to assist the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, Addiction and Prevention Services, in the monitoring process.

"Working with local law enforcement to supplement federal efforts has really made the difference here in Saline County," said Miriam Ibrahim, director of Saline County's Tobacco Use Prevention Program. "Making sure kids can't buy tobacco products is a key component of reducing tobacco use rates in Kansas."

In Kansas, tobacco use leads to approximately 4,000 deaths each year. It is the number one preventable cause of death and disease in the United States today. Statistics show that 1 in 5 adults in Kansas are smokers and nearly thirty percent of Kansans use some form of tobacco.

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. These costs are expected to continue at this level into the second quarter of the century if smoking rates do not decline.

A toll-free tobacco quitline is available to Kansans 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Kansas Tobacco Quitline ( 1-866-KAN-STOP ) is a free service 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. The one-on-one telephone counseling sessions are scheduled at times convenient for the caller. Callers are encouraged to contact the Quitline as many times as possible to help them meet their goals.

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