head) Maine Leads The Way In Anti-Smoking Efforts

By MARY BREWER

Maine sometimes ends up on the wrong end of nationwide surveys, such as the proportion of income its residents pay in taxes, so it was nice last week to see that we're leading the way when it comes to efforts to reduce smoking.

Unlike some states, which have chosen to pretty much dump their share of the huge tobacco settlement windfall into their general fund to pay for other things, Maine people chose to take seriously their effort to get out the word that smoking - and second-hand smoke - kills. If you've been a Maine resident for quite some time, you can understand why its citizens felt accepting the money brought with it a responsibility to use the money as it was intended.

Perhaps it's because we're a more rural state, comprised mostly of small, closely-knit communities, that we truly understand the dangers of smoking. We've watched grandparents, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, and grandchildren, die from lung cancer. Maine folks did their share of grumbling when new rules came into effect banning smoking in public buildings, in restaurants, and on school and hospital campuses, with smokers arguing it was grossly unfair. We're not big on lots of rules here. However, we slowly came to accept it, and today most offices are smoke-free, and many folks don't even smoke inside their own homes or in their cars. We've grudgingly come to realize that second-hand smoke does, indeed, adversely affect others, and that we have no right to infringe upon the health of others with our own bad habits.

It's good news to learn that Maine, along with California, New York, and Rhode Island, is leading the way in the fight against smoking with its anti-smoking messages, by prohibiting easy access for youths, raising the cost of cigarettes through taxes, and in passing restrictive laws as to where one can and can't smoke.

With the good news comes a reminder that we've a long way to go. It's estimated that smoking costs Maine $876 million per year in health care costs and lost time, and fully one-quarter of Maine teens and adults still smoke. That's nothing to brag about. We hope efforts continue to prove to young people that smoking not only isn't cool, it's actually just the opposite; most fellow students don't admire the smoker one bit. We also need to convince them that smoking isn't something you do occasionally. Tobacco companies have designed their product to become a habit you can't break, and to addict you for life. That's guaranteed income in their pocket.

Keep up the good work, Maine.

- Mary Brewer