Milton, FLA. – Florida Department of Health and Tobacco Free Florida in Santa Rosa County are looking for businesses and organizations that have a new tobacco free policy. If you are a business owner or organization leader who supports a tobacco free environment and has implemented a tobacco free policy at your establishment recently, let us acknowledge this achievement with you. This new policy will protect our children’s health, support tobacco users who want to quit and keep our community clean.

Tobacco free spaces support our community in many ways. They improve health by providing fewer opportunities for youth to start smoking,[i][1]^,[ii][2]  and reduce secondhand smoke exposure.[iii][3] These policies also help lower cigarette litter,[iv][4] encourage people to make healthy choices and increase quit attempts.[v][5]^{,[vi][6],[vii][7]} 

If you’re interested in these benefits for your business or organization, Tobacco Free Florida can help. Contact Vince Nguyen to learn more, at Vince.Nguyen@flhealth.gov or 850 564-2253.

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About Tobacco Free Florida

The Florida Department of Health’s Tobacco Free Florida campaign is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Florida’s tobacco settlement fund. Since the program began in 2007, more than 254,000 Floridians have successfully quit using one of Tobacco Free Florida's free tools and services. There are now approximately 451,000 fewer adult smokers in Florida than there was 10 years ago, and the state has saved $17.7 billion in health care costs.[viii][8] To learn more about Tobacco Free Florida’s Quit Your Way services, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tobaccofreefla. 

 [ix][1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006. [accessed August 4, 2020].

[x][2] Siegel M, Albers AB, Cheng DM, Biener L, Rigotti NA. Local Restaurant Smoking Regulations and the Adolescent Smoking Initiation Process: Results of a Multilevel Contextual Analysis Among Massachusetts Youth. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 2008;162(5):477–83. [accessed August 4, 2020].

[xi][3] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006. [accessed August 4, 2020].

[xii][4] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006. [accessed August 4, 2020].

[xiii][5] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006. [accessed August 4, 2020].

[xiv][6] Hopkins DP, Razi S, Leeks KD, Priva Kalra G, Chattopadhyay SK, Soler RE, et al. Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Smoke-Free Policies to Reduce Tobacco Use: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2010;38(2 Suppl):S275–89. [accessed August 4, 2020].

[xv][7] International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, Tobacco Control, Volume 13: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Smoke-Free PoliciesCdc-pdf External Lyon, France: WHO, 2009. [accessed August 4, 2020].