Tobacco Programs
The Douglas County Health Department, as a part of the Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities Program, has several programs that focus on the major areas of the anti-tobacco campaign: prevention, cessation, environmental tobacco smoke, and working with at-risk communities. 
This is accomplished through a variety of programming.
For prevention programming, we offer the Samantha the Skunk Program to preschool children through children in the 2nd grade. Samantha visits the classroom or other setting and reads her story to the group about the consequences of smoking. The children interact with Samantha and get a copy of Samantha's story to take home with them. For information on bringing the Samantha the Skunk program to your group, contact Kim Hunter, Health Educator at 217-253-4137 to schedule a visit!
Cessation programs are also available. The Health Department has a trained Freedom From Smoking Facilitator who conducts smoking cessation programs throughout the county. Are you thinking about quitting? Would you like to host a class at your work site or for your organization? For more information on the cessation program, visit our Freedom From Smoking Program page.
First-hand Smoke - What is first-hand smoke?
First-hand smoke is what you might think it would be: smoke that affects the smoker. This is the "smoke" (including the carcinogens, nicotine, and additives) that the smoker inhales and infiltrates his or her body.
Second-hand Smoke - What is second-hand smoke and why is it important?
Second-hand smoke, recently termed "environmental tobacco smoke," is the "smoke" exposure that smokers and non-smokers receive from the burning and consumption of a cigarette, pipe, or cigar. The second-hand "smoke" consists not only of the nuisance portion from the smoke itself, but also contains carcinogens (cancer causing agents), nicotine (drug), and carbon monoxide (poison). While the former is what most people complain about- for instance, the smell that lingers on their clothes after leaving a bar, it is the latter that is dangerous, even deadly.
- The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that second-hand smoke causes 3,000 lung cancer DEATHS among non-smokers each years.
- A recent study from the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that a non-smoker's risk of heart disease increases by 25% with exposure to second-hand smoke.
- Non-smokers subjected to second-hand smoke are exposed to: nicotine, carbon monoxide and carcinogens (cancer causing agents.)
- Non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke exclusively at work have been found to have significantly higher level of nicotine metabolite in their blood than those with no work-place exposure.
What is in a cigarette?
While most of us would answer the Jeopardy question with: What is paper, tobacco, filter and, maybe, glue, the truth is far more complicated. Below is a partial list of cigarette ingredients. Click here to view a complete list of the 599 ingredients in a single cigarette.
Some ingredients in a cigarette:
| Nicotine: | aka a drug |  |
| Naphthalene: | aka mothballs | |
| Carbon Monoxide: | aka car exhaust fumes | |
| Acetone: | aka nail polish remover | |
| Formaldehyde: | aka embalming fluid | |
| Arsenic: | aka rat poison | |
| Polonium 210: | aka nuclear waste material | |
| Cyanide: | aka poison | |
| Ammonia: | aka household cleaner | |
| Toluene: | aka industrial solvent | |
| Butane: | aka lighter fluid |
For more information on tobacco and related programs:
- American Lung Association Factsheet on Second-Hand Smoke: http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35422
- American Lung Association Factsheet on Second-Hand Smoke: http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=35422
- Cost of Smoking Calculator: www.idph.state.il.us/TobaccoWebSite/home.htm
- IDPH Quitline: www.idph.state.il.us/TobaccoWebSite/quitsmoking.htm