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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Campaign Asks NC Restaurants to go Smoke Free on Behalf of Pregnant Women [08/14-2]
Excerpts from: Smoking fight on babies' behalf
By Steve Hartsoe The Sun News [08/13/03]
In Forsyth County, North Carolina's tobacco capital, volunteers are asking local restaurants to snuff out their smoking sections as a way to improve the health of pregnant women.
The reason: Babies of black women who smoke during pregnancy die four times as often as those of pregnant white women who smoke, according to the Forsyth County Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition.
County figures show that, between 1995 and 2000, 59 infants and unborn children
died for every 1,000 pregnancies among black smokers. For white smokers, the
rate was 14 deaths per 1,000 pregnancies.
In addition to working toward safer public environments, county health officials are trying to persuade women not to smoke while pregnant.
The campaign, "Smoking and Babies Just Don't Mix," started last year
and runs through January. The county has used billboards, posters and advertisements
to urge pregnant women not to smoke.
Workers put small stickers on restaurant bills asking owners and managers to
make their businesses smoke-free.
The latest phase involves meeting with owners and managers and directly asking them to ban smoking.
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