LAKE COUNTY – According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), each year, a staggering 443,000 Americans die each year from tobacco use. Another 50,000 Americans die annually from exposure to second-hand smoke.

Cigarettes kill more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined. Disease caused by smoking and/or exposure to second-hand smoke is responsible for an estimated one in five U.S. deaths and costs the U.S. over $150 billion each year in health care costs and lost productivity.

Cigarette smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths. It is a major cause of cancers of the lung, larynx (voice box), oral cavity, pharynx (throat) and esophagus, and is a contributing cause in the development of cancers of the bladder, pancreas, liver, uterine cervix, kidney, stomach, colon and rectum, and some leukemias.

Cancers account for only about half of the deaths related to smoking. Smoking is also a major cause of heart disease, bronchitis, emphysema, and stroke, and contributes to the severity of pneumonia. Tobacco has a damaging affect on women's reproductive health and is associated with increased risk of miscarriage, early delivery (pre-maturity), stillbirth, infant death, and is a cause of low birth weight in infants.

Based on data collected from 1995 to 1999, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking.

People who stop smoking at younger ages experience the greatest health benefits from quitting. Those who quit by age 35 avoid 90% of the risk due to tobacco use. However, even smokers who quit after age 50 substantially reduce their risk of dying early. The argument that it is too late to quit smoking because the damage is already done is not true.

In September 1990, the US Surgeon General outlined the benefits of smoking cessation:

• Smoking cessation has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages. Benefits apply to persons with and without smoking-related disease.

• Former smokers live longer than continuing smokers. For example, persons who quit smoking before age 50 have one-half the risk of dying in the next 15 years compared with continuing smokers.

• Smoking cessation decreases the risk of lung cancer, other cancers, heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease.

• Women who stop smoking before pregnancy or during the first 3 to 4 months of pregnancy reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby to that of women who never smoked.

• The health benefits of smoking cessation far exceed any risks from the average 5-pound weight gain or any adverse psychological effects that may follow quitting.

The risk of having lung cancer and other cancers can be reduced by quitting. The risk of lung cancer is less in people who quit smoking than in people who continue to smoke the same number of cigarettes per day, and the risk decreases as the number of years since quitting increases.

It’s never too late to quit smoking. The health benefits start just 20 minutes after the last cigarette and continue the longer a person is “smoke free.”

There are many resources to help with quitting smoking. The California 1.800.NO.BUTTS program, funded through Proposition 99, provides free telephone cessation support and materials. In Lake County, Lake Family Resource Center offers free American Lung Association “Freedom from Smoking” classes throughout the year at various locations.

Information regarding stop-smoking is available from Lake Family Resource Center/Lake County Tobacco Education Program by calling 262-1611 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

“Freedom from Smoking”, the leading smoking cessation program in the United States for over 25 years, shows participants how to quit smoking for good in a supportive setting.

Participants meet weekly in small groups so everyone attending gets personal attention.

No two smokers are alike; the program helps everyone create their own quit plan. Because support of others is important while quitting, participating with a group who understands the challenges helps at a time when support is most needed.

You’ll be more successful at quitting smoking by being with other people who have decided to get healthy for summer.

The Lakeport classes will take place Thursdays at Lake Family Resource Center, 896 Lakeport Blvd., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The Clearlake classes will take place Tuesdays at Lake Family Resource Center, 14671 Olympic Drive, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Both programs run seven weeks, with two classes during “Quit Week.”

The program is FREE and includes all program materials and refreshments.

For more information and to register for the classes call Joy Swetnam, Lake Family Resource Center, at 707-262-1611 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

“HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, as over 80% of American females are infected at some point in their lives,” Wiggins said. “HPV has also been identified as the primary cause of cervical cancer, which was once the number one cause of cancer deaths among women in the U.S.”

The senator added that a 2007 survey of California health plans found that an estimated 27,400 privately-insured females aged 11 to 26 years lack coverage for the HPV vaccine and would gain coverage as a result of this bill. She said that “SB 158 will ensure all young women with health insurance are covered.”

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), there are more than 100 types of HPVs, nearly a third of which can be transmitted sexually. Most HPV infections occur without any symptoms and go away without treatment. Both "high-risk" and "low-risk" HPVs can cause the growth of abnormal cells, but generally only high-risk HPVs lead to cancer, including cervical, anal, and penile cancer.

Of the women who develop abnormal cervical cell changes with high-risk HPVs, only a small percentage develop cervical cancer if the abnormal cells are not removed. Approximately 90% percent of new HPV infections clear within two years.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an estimated 6.2 million new HPV infections occur every year among persons aged 14 to 44 years in the U.S. Of these, 74 percent occur among those aged 15 to 24 years.

Estimates suggest that over 80 percent of sexually active women will have acquired genital HPV by age 50.

A 2007 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that the prevalence of HPV infection in the U.S. was highest among 20 to 24 year olds (45%). For females 14 to 24 years, the overall HPV prevalence was estimated at 34 percent.

The California Department of Public Health estimates that there may be approximately 900,000 females ages 14 to 24 with an HPV infection. Approximately 372,000 California females ages 14 to 59 have a vaccine-preventable HPV infection.

Wiggins represents California’s 2nd Senate District, comprised of portions or all of six counties: Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma.