Join in World No Tobacco Day! May 31

Across the globe, there are efforts to reduce the incidence of smoking. That's the purpose of World No Tobacco Day! on Wednesday, May 31.

World No Tobacco Day! and other observances and campaigns, such as Tobacco Twenty-One, are used to reinforce the importance of reducing smoking and the use of tobacco products.

The effort to raise the minimum age of legal access to tobacco products is gaining steam, but the work is far from being finished.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Illinois has an above national average rate of high school smoking, and a near average rate of adult smoking.

This means that 230,000 children now under the age of 18 will die prematurely from smoking.

Cigarette sales to those under 21 account for only 2.12 percent of total sales. But because 90 percent of smokers start by the age of 21, these are the very sales that help lead to 9 out of every 10 new smokers.

The CDC reports that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death. That's why observances like World No Tobacco Day! are so important.

The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2017 is "Tobacco - A Threat to Development." It will demonstrate the threats that the tobacco industry poses to the sustainable development of all countries, including the health and economic well-being of their citizens. It will propose measures that governments and the public should take to promote health and development by confronting the global tobacco crisis.

For more information about the tobacco program in Kane County, visit kanehealth.com/tobacco21.htm.

Follow the health department at www.facebook.com/kanehealth or twitter.com/kanecohealth.