Press Releases
- For Immediate Release
November 17, 2011 - AUSTIN, TX - For more information, contact
Robert Nash (512) 779-3847 - Mark Evans (979) 492-1150
Visiting World-Renowned Cancer Researchers and Prevention Experts Help Keep Austin Weird while Battling Deadly Disease
Cancer luminaries mark Great American Smokeout by signing Austin’s eye-catching Ashtrayler
Photo link at: http://mediaroom.cprit.state.tx.us/picture-gallery/great-american-smokeout/
What could be more fitting for the final day of a national cancer conference than some of the world’s leading cancer experts taking a short time out to mark today’s Great American Smokeout by signing pledges to redouble their efforts in the fight against cancer on Austin’s uniquely weird Ashtrayler.
Leading cancer researchers and prevention experts from across the nation — and the world — were in Austin this week participating in the second annual Innovations in Cancer Prevention and Research Conference. Host organization the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) used the occasion to unveil a new policy requiring each academic institution, business or community organization that receives one of its funded grants ($570 million awarded so far) to establish a completely smoke-free workplace.
Dr. Philip Huang, medical director for the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department, applauded the young state agency’s commitment to help push workplaces toward greater safety from the dangers of second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke is not only a proven health risk to non-smokers, but exposure to it can often frustrate the efforts of people who are trying to stop smoking.
“Quitting smoking is difficult. It’s even more difficult to quit when you are constantly bombarded by second-hand smoke,” said Dr. Philip Huang, medical director for the Austin/Travis County HHSD. “We support healthier, smoke-free environments and want to remind people who are trying to quit of the many community resources available to them.”
Twenty-four thousand Texas adults die annually of a smoking-related illness, according to the state health department. On average, 11 people in Travis County die every week because of tobacco use. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men and women, and more than 80 percent of lung cancers are thought to result from smoking.
“We’re here to help lead the state’s fight against cancer, and there is no longer any question about the cancer risks faced by people who use tobacco,” CPRIT Executive Director Bill Gimson said. “Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in our country. This proposed requirement to receive a CPRIT grant award is our way of encouraging other organizations to provide tobacco-free environments for their employees and their customers.”
The cancer institute is providing more than $40 million in funding to support lung cancer research and prevention projects across the state. These projects are developing new ways to treat the disease as well as educating people about the potential health effects of tobacco use.
Visit http://LiveTobaccoFreeAustin.org to learn more about the health impacts of tobacco use and resources to help quit using tobacco or http://www.cprit.state.tx.us to learn more about CPRIT’s efforts to fight all cancers – including lung cancer.
About CPRIT
Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment in 2007 establishing CPRIT and authorizing the state to issue $3 billion in bonds to fund groundbreaking cancer research and prevention programs and services in Texas. CPRIT’s goal is to expedite innovation and commercialization in the area of cancer research and to enhance access to evidence-based prevention programs and services throughout the state. CPRIT accepts applications and awards grants for a wide variety of cancer-related research and for the delivery of cancer prevention programs and services by public and private entities located in Texas. More information about CPRIT is available on its website, www.cprit.state.tx.us.
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