County Advocacy for Tobacco and Nicotine Cessation

The Archuleta County Public Health Department is raising awareness about the dangers of tobacco and nicotine use. Recently, Lacy Capre from the Archuleta County Public Health Department gave a presentation to the Healthy Archuleta team members on the history, evolution, health impacts, and current marketing of tobacco products.

Today's tobacco products include combustible products (cigarettes, cigars), dissolvables (chew, packets), electronic nicotine products (vapes), and heated tobacco delivery products. These products vary in nicotine levels, with vapes (up to 50 mg/ml of nicotine) and pouches (up to 14 mg of nicotine) delivering significantly more nicotine than cigarettes (1.5 - 3mg). Commercial tobacco products are designed to be highly addictive and pose various health risks, including cancer and COPD.

Contrary to some beliefs, vapes, and pouches do not help reduce nicotine addiction; they increase it. All tobacco products are legally available in Colorado for those 21 and older, but many are marketed to attract younger consumers, including on social media. By becoming aware of the dangers of commercial tobacco products, especially to our youth, we can help educate our families, friends, and our community to understand how the use of tobacco products adversely affects our health.

To combat tobacco addiction, resources like the Colorado Quitline https://www.coquitline.org/en-US (for ages 15+), Baby & Me Tobacco Free https://babyandmetobaccofree.org/ (for pregnant women), My Life My Quit www.mylifemyquit.com (for ages 12-17), and the American Indian Commercial Tobacco Program https://wy-americanindian.quitlogix.org/en-us/ are available. Community support is encouraged through participation in Take Down Tobacco Day on April 1st, with a tobacco-free walk being planned in Archuleta County. For more information, please contact the Archuleta County Public Health Department.