News Articles » – Up in Smoke

The Macomb Daily
“Up in Smoke…..”

Survey shows Macomb residents lead area in smoking percentage

By Maryann Kocis
Macomb Daily Staff Writer
(Edited & Reprinted)

Like 80 to 90% of all smokers, Donald Roth 63, of Shelby Township was indulging in cigarettes by the time he was 20 years old.

At one point, he quit for five years, but a painful divorce sent him scurrying back to the tobacco store.

In January, health reasons prompted Roth to try again, and with the help of a smoking cessation program offered through St. John Health System, he has been smoke-free for two months.

“It’s tough,” Roth said, “You really have to make up your mind you’re going to do it.”

Roth is a bright spot on Macomb County’s otherwise cloudy smoking scene.

According to a new survey conducted by EPIC X MRA, a Lansing-based research group, Macomb County has the highest percentage of smokers compared to Detroit and Oakland County, with 24%.

The city of Detroit logged in with 16% and Oakland County had the lowest score with 14%. Overall, the smoking percentage for the state of Michigan was 21%.The random survey of 1,800 adults from around the state was commissioned by VHA, a hospital consulting firm that works with 17 area hospitals including St. John, Beaumont and Oakwood.

“Part of what I think might be at play here is that Macomb has traditionally been a working-class county,” said Venice Davis Anthony, senior vice-president for community health at St., John Health System. “Largely blue collar citizens tend to smoke more.”

While youth smokers in Macomb outnumbered youth smokers in other areas, the age group that contained the most smokers was the 36 to 40-year old range. At that point, the numbers began shrinking.

“I think you see fewer smokers in the older ages because by that time, fewer smokers are still with us,” Anthony said.

Survey results indicate the majority of those who quit successfully do so “cold turkey”. Health reasons proved to be the most common motivator.

In Roth’s case, doctors had been after him to quit smoking since he suffered his first stroke nearly two years ago.

“But I hadn’t made up my mind yet to quit,” Roth said.

Support of his family made his decision easier. Instead of attending the workshop alone Roth brought his wife Doreen, his 21-year-old son and 30-year old daughter. All four are still smoke free.

Wellness Seminar instructor Rena Greenberg calls hypnosis a powerful tool in the battle for habit control.

For $59 seminar participants take part in a 2-hour presentation, which includes a hypnosis session. During the first hour, which is free of charge, Greenberg teaches participants how hypnosis can be used to break bad habits. Those who are satisfied with what they hear can pay and proceed. A take-home package includes an audiotape and booklet. Participants are then free to return to any future workshops for inspiration any time.

“As long as we associate pleasure with a particular habit, it’s very hard if not impossible to give up. The key is redirecting those associations.”

For Roth, each day is still a challenge – “I’m not over the hump yet,” but once he gets to the ‘5 to 6-month mark’ it will be a lot ‘easier’.

“When I first started smoking,” Roth said, “It was the thing to do. If you didn’t smoke, you weren’t with the people. You were a loner.”

To that end, educating today’s young people against the dangers of smoking is the only way to make a significant dent in the smoking population, said Ken Lamper, executive director of the Macomb County Zero Tolerance Commission.

“We need to do a better job of preventing the behavior,” Lamer said. “That’s the only way the numbers and percentages will come down in Macomb County.

Once a young person starts smoking, he or she is often hooked for life, thereby projecting the behavior onto their own children. The youngsters, in turn, are likely to follow in their parent’s footsteps.

“Among students I’ve talked to, as young as 4 th grade, smoking is considered a normal behavior,” Lamper said. “This message is instilled at a very early age.”

“We need to get the message out more prevalently in our schools,” Anthony said. “We can’t start too early, elementary school is prime time.”