SHENANGO VALLEY Warning of dangers of secondhand smoke

The group is giving newborns T-shirts that read, 'I'm tobacco free, are you?'
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
FARRELL, Pa. -- Secondhand smoke can trigger asthma attacks in children, and the Minority Health Committee of Sharon Regional Health System is asking parents to protect their young ones.
The organization has launched a "Not In Mama's Kitchen" campaign targeting secondhand smoke.
The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States, with between 30,000 and 50,000 nonsmokers dying each year of smoke-caused heart disease.
The goal is to increase the number of smoke-free black American households in the Sharon and Farrell area, said Olive Brown and Linda Moss-McDougall, committee coordinators.
A grant of $4,495 from the Pennsylvania Tobacco Prevention Network, with funding provided through the Pennsylvania Department of Health, will pay for the committee's effort.
It began with the presentation of the first infant T-shirt bearing the logo "I'm tobacco free, are you?" to newborn Isaiah Anderson in Sharon Regional Health System on Monday, but the real kickoff will come at the Mother's Day Health Fair at the Shenango Valley Mall on May 12.
Activities: The committee will ask men and women to pledge not to allow tobacco smoke in their homes near infants or children.
The group will also distribute flowers and an information card through 23 black churches in the Shenango Valley and will visit local housing projects, seeking that same pledge, Brown said.
The group will hand out "smoke-free" refrigerator magnets and conduct youth and adult workshops on the dangers of smoking.
Scheduled: The first program will be for young people at 5:30 p.m. May 15 at the Minority Health offices at 901 Fruit Ave., featuring Michelle Askerneese, a respiratory therapist.
That will be followed by an adult presentation at 11:30 a.m. May 24 with respiratory therapist Kimberly Hunchuk at the committee offices.
Brown said there will be an awards luncheon at noon May 26 at Minority Health for those who have signed the pledge.
Dr. George Garrow, oncologist and hematologist at Sharon Regional's Cancer Care Center, will be the guest speaker.