SANTA FE – The New Mexico Department of Health (“NMDOH”) issued a press release today reminding New Mexicans that tomorrow is “World No Tobacco Day” and how this presents an opportunity for smokers in New Mexico to make the decision to quit.
According to the NMDOH, the percentage of adult smokers in the state has dropped from 16.1% in 2020 to 13.4% in 2021, but the percentage of adults using e-cigarettes has increased from 4.9% in 2017 to 7.3% in 2021.
Vaping and e-cigarettes are an increasing issue for New Mexico’s youth, with one in three high school students currently vaping. Among students currently using commercial tobacco products, about 80% have used e-cigarettes either alone or in combination with other commercial tobacco products.
All forms of commercial tobacco are harmful and there is no safe level of exposure, with more than eight million persons dying each year from tobacco smoking.
The NMDOH’s Nicotine Use Prevention and Control Program offers free resources for nicotine users who want to quit.
New Mexicans can call 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669) for English or 1-855-DEJELO YA (1-855-335-3569) for Spanish, to receive free coaching, nicotine patches, gum or lozenges for registered participants. Free, web-based services are available at QuitNowNM.com and DejeloYaNM.com, which offer additional online support – including 24-hour text messaging.
For teens, “Live Vape Free” is a national text-based program with one-on-one coaching, live text support, and interactive content to help them quit e-cigarettes. Teens may register for by texting “VAPFREE” to 873373.
My brothers and sisters, I would never argue that the effort to quit smoking cigarettes and other nicotine-laden tobacco products is anything less than a great idea, as cancer and other disease is irrefutably connected with tobacco use! If the above information might help you or a loved one to quit, please use it or share it!
That said, did you notice the multiple and careful use of the word “commercial” and references only to nicotine, and the complete absence of any reference to marijuana smoke also being harmful to the health of its users?
According to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s April 3, 2023 press release, the State of New Mexico saw $300 million in adult-use cannabis sales in its first year, which began in April 2022. The state issued about 2,000 cannabis licenses across New Mexico, including licenses for 633 cannabis retailers, 351 producers, 415 micro producers and 507 manufacturers. [NOTE: The entire State of New Mexico has a total population of about 2.1 million persons.]
Governor Grisham said that “[i]n just one year, hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity has been generated in communities across the state, the number of businesses continues to increase, and thousands of New Mexicans are employed by this new industry,” and that she’s “excited to see what the future holds as we continue to develop an innovative and safe adult-use cannabis industry.”
Sadly, the State of New Mexico and the majority of its elected and appointed officials support the use of medicinal and recreational marijuana by the citizens of New Mexico. I guess direct and second-hand marijuana smoke isn’t really a concern compared to “commercial” cigarette smoke!
According to an online publication by the National Institute on Drug Abuse – an agency that is part of the United States National Institutes of Health (“NIH”), when a person smokes marijuana it quickly passes the psychoactive substance in marijuana – tetrahydrocannabinol or “THC” – from the lungs to the bloodstream, producing short-term and long-term health effects.
The publication goes on to state that marijuana affects brain development, and that when persons begin using marijuana as teenagers, the drug may impair thinking, memory and learning functions, with some of these changes possibly becoming permanent. For example, a study from New Zealand conducted in part by researchers at Duke University showed that people who started smoking marijuana heavily in their teens and had an ongoing marijuana use disorder, lost an average of 8 IQ points between ages 13 and 38.
As this writer has stated many times, let’s continue to lift up New Mexico’s governmental leadership in prayer. Let’s pray that wisdom and self-control would ultimately prevail, and that the evil effects of all forms of smoking – considering what we know today as a result of modern medicine – would be targeted for reduction and regulated in a consistent manner!
Psalm 111:10 (NKJV)
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; [a] good understanding have all those who do His commandments.”
1 Peter 1:13 (NLT)
“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.”
Praise Jesus forevermore!