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This brochure provides information on exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace and the benefits to employers once a smoke-free workplace has been implemented.

This module highlights the demographics of tobacco use in rural areas along with populations that may benefit from successful tobacco cessation efforts.

For general information on what to consider as you start your program, see Creating a Program: Where to Begin in the Rural Community Health Toolkit.

Creating tobacco-free spaces through policy is effective in reducing tobacco use and improving public health. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke and evidence shows that secondhand smoke is harmful even in outdoor spaces. While state and federal law regulate tobacco use in limited areas, New York local governments and private entities possess authority to impose more stringent tobacco use restrictions in both indoor and outdoor areas. This fact sheet aims to answer some common questions about developing, implementing and enforcing local and private tobacco-free policies. For more information about tobacco-free policies and other public health interventions, visit our website at tobaccopolicycenter.org.

Tobacco use is still the number-one source of preventable illness and death in the United States. It's also the single greatest cause of excessive health care spending and productivity losses for employers. Tobacco cessation coverage is one of the most cost-effective health insurance benefits an employer can provide.

Smoking is the most important preventable cause of premature death in the United States.

When you quit smoking the feeling of "loss" doesn't last forever. A brand new world is waiting for you.

Although the first steps can be hard, finding your path to a smokefree life is easier with the right help. The American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking program is a proven way to quit smoking—and stay quit—even if you’ve tried before and went back to smoking.

Quitting is a Journey.

Not sure how to ask for help? For life's ups and downs you don't have to ride it out alone.                                             

Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your physical health, emotional well-being, and quality of life. Use SmokefreeVET’s tools, resources, and support to help you become tobacco-free. 

Pregnancy & Motherhood

Give your smokers a better quitting experience.

Quitting is hard. Many people try several times before they quit for good. But they do succeed.  Quitting is hard, but— You Can Quit.

Tobacco free living means avoiding use of all types of tobacco products—such as cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipes and hookahs—and also living free from secondhand smoke exposure.

Quitting smoking is possible. If you’ve tried to quit, congratulations, that alone is a big achievement. It may take several tries to be successful. By taking small steps, you can learn what works for you. Every try counts. Start here.

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the U.S. Although the percentage of adults who smoke is at an all-time low in the U.S., 34 million adults still smoke and therefore continue to be at risk of developing smoking-related diseases.

This report makes it clear that one of the most important actions people can take to improve their health is to quit smoking. This is true regardless of their age or how long they’ve been smoking.

Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Relay is staffed and coordinated by volunteers in more than 5,200 communities and 27 countries. Volunteers give of their time and effort because they believe it's time to take action against cancer. 

Health information, whether in print or online, should come from a trusted, credible source. Government agencies, hospitals, universities, and medical journals and books that provide evidence-based information are sources you can trust.

The Cancer Trends Progress Report, continually updated since its first issue in 2001, summarizes our nation's advances against cancer in relation to Healthy People(link is external) targets set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services. The report, intended for policy makers, researchers, and public health professionals, includes key measures of progress along the cancer control continuum and uses national trend data to illustrate where improvements have been made.

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery operated products designed to turn nicotine and other chemicals into a vapor. You then inhale the vapor.

CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local health departments, and other clinical and public health partners are investigating a multistate outbreak of lung injury associated with e-cigarette product (devices, liquids, refill pods, and/or cartridges) use.

Get the facts about electronic cigarettes, their health effects and the risks of using e-cigarettes.

E-cigarettes are sometimes called “e-cigs,” “vapes,” “e-hookahs,” “vape pens,” and “electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).” Some e-cigarettes look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some look like USB flash drives, pens, and other everyday items.

Learn about the benefits of good nutrition, regular physical activity, and staying at a healthy weight. We also offer guidance and tips to help you choose healthier options.

Personalized nutrition and physcial activity plan.

The Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Winnable Battle materials below provide a snapshot of the context and background for this priority area, as well as descriptions of some of the systems, policy, and programmatic interventions pursued by CDC and our public health partners at the federal, state and local levels.

Good nutrition is important for cancer patients. Healthy eating habits are important during cancer treatment.

The Dietary Guidelines is designed for professionals to help all individuals ages 2 years and older and their families consume a healthy, nutritionally adequate diet. The information in the Dietary Guidelines is used in developing Federal food, nutrition, and health policies and programs.

Being overweight or obese can have far-reaching health consequences, including raising your risk for certain types of cancer. Learn more about the link between body weight and cancer here. 

Staying in control of your weight contributes to good health now and as you age.

Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is good for your overall health and will help you prevent and control many diseases and conditions.

Employers across the country are exploring innovative approaches to worksite wellness policies that incorporate a broad vision of health.  Increasingly, these initiatives are geared toward improving the health of the workplace through healthy food procurement and tobacco-free policies.  As employers seek to reduce health care costs through the improvement of employee health, worksite wellness policies hold great promise in the movement toward greater health, productivity and well-being.

Learn about the benefits of good nutrition, regular physical activity, and staying at a healthy weight. We also offer guidance and tips to help you choose healthier options.

Take the first step. Start with walking! Why? It's easy and it works!

Physical activity is anything that gets your body moving. According to the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, you need to do two types of physical activity each week to improve your health–aerobic and muscle-strengthening.

CDC now recommends 11 to 12 year olds get two doses of HPV vaccine—rather than the previously recommended three doses—to protect against cancers caused by HPV. The second dose should be given 6-12 months after the first dose. For more information on the updated recommendations, read the MMWR:

Cancer often takes years, even decades, to develop after a person gets HPV.

HPV is a common virus that infects men and women.80% of people will get an HPV infection in their lifetime. Most HPV infections will go away on their own. Infections that don’t go away can cause precancers and cancers.

Cancer preventive vaccines target infectious agents that cause or contribute to the development of cancer.

Think About the Link® is a prevention and education campaign from the Prevent Cancer Foundation® that aims to raise awareness about the connection between certain viruses and cancer.

Three vaccines are approved by the FDA to prevent HPV infection: Gardasil, Gardasil 9, and Cervarix. All three vaccines prevent infections with HPV types 16 and 18, two high-risk HPVs that cause about 70% of cervical cancers and an even higher percentage of some of the other HPV-associated cancers.

Checking for cancer (or for conditions that may become cancer) in people who have no symptoms is called screening.

Screening for cervical cancer using the Pap test has decreased the number of new cases of cervical cancer and the number of deaths due to cervical cancer since 1950.

Mammograms can be used to check for breast cancer in women who have no signs or symptoms of the disease. This type of mammogram is called a screening mammogram. Screening 

Recommendation Summary

Clinical trials are research studies that involve people. Understanding what they are can help you decide if a clinical trial might be an option for you. Or maybe you have a friend or family member with cancer and are wondering if a clinical trial is right for them.

It’s your involvement that helps researchers to ultimately uncover better ways to treat, prevent, diagnose and understand human disease.

When you learn you have cancer, you want to make sure you get the best possible medical care and treatment. Choosing your doctor and treatment center will be one of the most important decisions you’ll make. There are many excellent cancer care centers in the United States, but how do you know where to look?

The NCI Cancer Centers Program is one of the anchors of the nation’s cancer research effort.

Free resource to help managers support employees touched by cancer. Provides front-line managers with practical guidance from a practical psychosocial, and legal perspective.

Cancer and Careers empowers and educates people with cancer to thrive in their workplace, by providing expert advice, interactive tools and educational events.

When a coworker has cancer: What to do - and not to do.

Find information on living with cancer, whether you are a newly diagnosed patient, a survivor, or a family member or friend of someone who is living with cancer.

The information to help you cope with the many issues and concerns that occur when you have cancer. There are resources available to help you learn about the disease and about the people who can help you. 

When Someone You Love Has Completed Cancer Treatment is for friends and family members of a person who has finished cancer treatment. Until now, many caregivers have focused on getting the patient through treatment. But once treatment is over, many changes and shifts take place for everyone.

You may be a survivor, friend or family member, or a person who has lost someone to the disease. People often feel that they can make a difference in cancer by taking part in cancer-related activities and helping others.

If you are helping your family member or friend through cancer treatment, you are a caregiver. This may mean helping with daily activities such as going to the doctor or making meals. It could also mean coordinating services and care. Or it may be giving emotional and spiritual support.

Survivorship after treatment is an important phase of cancer care. The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report, From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition, recommends that each cancer patient receive a Survivorship Care Plan—a plan for wellness to help you continue to receive the best health care.

Ongoing dialogue with cancer survivors through surveys and research led us to discover that a top concern among survivors was the difficulty of returning to physical activity after treatment. In response, LIVESTRONG partnered with the YMCA of the USA in 2007 to create LIVESTRONG at the YMCA, a 12-week physical activity program designed to get survivors back on their feet.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the employment provisions of the ADA. This document, which is one of a series of question-and-answer documents addressing particular disabilities in the workplace, explains how the ADA applies to job applicants and employees who have or had cancer. 

We have online resources available to help you at any point on your cancer journey. Select your stage and concern below to get started.

The number of cancer survivors has grown dramatically over the past several decades, a trend that is expected to continue as diagnosis and treatments improve. In 2019, the number of cancer survivors reached more than 16.9 million in the United States, and that number is expected to grow to more than 22.2 million by 2030.

NCI-funded research has played a vital role in identifying the unique medical and psychological needs of both children and adults with a history of cancer. This includes NCI-funded studies documenting the large burden of late effects of cancer and its treatment. NCI is also funding research on the racial and ethnic disparities that exist throughout the cancer care continuum, including in survivorship.

It is usually not possible to know exactly why one person develops cancer and another doesn’t. But research has shown that certain risk factors may increase a person’s chances of developing cancer. (There are also factors that are linked to a lower risk of cancer. These are sometimes called protective risk factors, or just protective factors.)

This weekly resource, targeted toward experienced patients and caregivers, follows developments in the field of oncology and provides news highlights from the preceding week. 

Extensive up to date information from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

How to Protect Yourself | If you think you are sick 

What you need to know | Resources for the Community 

From the latest headlines about the global coronavirus crisis to practical advice on how you can protect yourself and your loved ones at home, Everyday Health has got you covered.

From the latest COVID-19 news and information about vaccines, antivirals, treatments, and stopping the spread, to inspiring patient stories and expert advice on lowering stress and building resilience, we're here to help you live your healthiest life every day through and beyond this pandemic.