Sample Letter to the Editor on Women’s Equality Day and Smoking
Dear Editor:
As we celebrate the anniversary of women's right to vote on August 26, Women's Equality Day,
we need to draw attention to the effect of tobacco-related diseases on women. Lung cancer has surpassed
breast cancer as a leading killer of women. Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke increases the risk
of heart disease, which kills one of three women in the United States. Babies born to women who smoke
and babies who are exposed to secondhand smoke after birth are at greater risk for sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS), asthma, and other chronic lung diseases.
It is not by accident that tobacco use has increased to the point of creating an epidemic among American
women. Since the 1960s, tobacco advertising has linked women's liberation with smoking, beginning with
"You've come a long way, baby," and now proclaiming that "It's a woman thing."
The tobacco companies also have developed slick advertising campaigns that glamorize smoking and that connect
cigarettes with thinness. The Federal Trade Commission's annual report on tobacco advertising revealed
that advertising and promotional expenditures increased by $2.68 billion (21.5%) between 2002 and 2003,
for a grand total annual expenditure of $15.15 billion. This represents an increase of approximately $9
billion since 1998.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a number of publications that explain the risks
of smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke and the benefits of quitting. These include the 2006 Surgeon
General's Report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, the 2004 Surgeon General's Report,
The Health Consequences of Smoking, and a number of products based on these reports. CDC also has a community
toolkit to help combat the problem of tobacco use among young girls and women, Dispelling the Myths About
Smoking.
We may not have the money that the tobacco companies have, but we have hearts that react to the pain and
suffering caused by tobacco use. All of us must work together to keep children safe from tobacco use and to
help those who want to quit their deadly addiction.
Sincerely,
(Your name and affiliation)
Page last reviewed 11/30/2007
Page last modified 11/30/2007
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