PRESS RELEASE DETAIL

Office of the Mayor-President


For release: IMMEDIATELY

Release Date: 01/27/2015

Mayor Holden, local hospitals launch Tobacco-Free Awareness Campaign

Mayor Melvin L. “Kip” Holden has joined with seven local hospitals to raise public awareness about the hospitals’ tobacco-free campus policies and to encourage residents to join them in becoming tobacco-free.

The campaign is called “Breathe Free” and will be promoted by the hospitals from January 27 through February 3.

Together with the Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative, also know as Healthy BR, and the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco Free Living, an awareness campaign has been developed to promote the benefits of a tobacco-free lifestyle.

Participating hospitals include: Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Lane Regional
Medical Center, Ochsner Medical Center – Baton Rouge, Our Lady of the Lake Regional
Medical Center, Mary Bird Perkins-OLOL Cancer Center, St. Elizabeth Hospital, and
Woman’s Hospital.

Mayor Holden and the hospitals are collaborating to send the message that tobacco products pose a serious health risk. Mayor Holden applauded the hospitals for their tobacco-free campus policies.

“We’re proud of our area hospitals for coming together to send a message about the dangers of tobacco use and creating a healthy environment for their patients, visitors, and staff,” the Mayor said.

An estimated 17 percent of adults in East Baton Rouge Parish smoke. In Louisiana, approximately 690 adults die each year due to exposure to secondhand smoke and in an average week, 80 percent of Louisiana residents are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke is a complex mixture of over 4,000 chemicals, at least 60 of which are known to cause cancer.

For information about tobacco cessation resources, go to www.healthybr.com/breathe-free .

The Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative (Healthy BR) is a coalition of more than 70 partner organizations that communicate, coordinate, and collaborate around Baton Rouge’s greatest health priorities. The coalition has defined the four biggest health priorities as: obesity, HIV/AIDS, mental and behavioral health, and overuse of emergency rooms.




###