Help Your Community in the Fight against Second Hand Smoke

All persons in the South Carolina deserve to live, work, study and play in smokefree environments. By implementing laws and policies to make our communities smokefree, we can:

• Protect all workers and patrons from the dangers of secondhand smoke
• Reduce death and diseases associated with secondhand smoke
• Motivate smokers to quit
• Reduce the number of people who start smoking

Did you know??

• As of January 1, 2022, only about 40% of South Carolinians live in towns, cities, or counties with smoke-free ordinances.
  
• The smoking rate in SC is 15.5% which is significantly higher than the national rate of 13.5%.
• The rate of new lung cancer cases in SC is 58.9 is significantly higher than the national rate of 54.6.
• 20 of the 46 counties in SC have no workplace smokefree protections at the either the county or municipal level. See where your community lands here: https://scdhec.gov/sites/default/files/media/docum...
• Evidence shows that when 50% or more of local communities pass smokefree ordinances, this can lead to a state-wide smokefree law to protect all South Carolinians.

In South Carolina, one in five people are exposed to secondhand smoke at work. Smoke from other people's cigarettes, pipes, or cigars increases the risk of lung cancer in non-smokers by 30%. When a person breathes in secondhand smoke, it's as if they're smoking.

Smokefree SC currently receives $30,000 to help local coalitions across the state work on implementing smokefree laws and policies in their communities. This is not enough to help the many coalitions working on this issue. In order to bridge the gap, we are asking for donations to make small grants (up to $5,000) to help local coalitions educate and motivate decision makers and citizens to make their communities smokefree.