Just as one’s health can be determined by both family history and environment, so too, can one’s life mission be an unpredictable product of family legacy and experience.

That’s what Patrick Reynolds, grandson of cigarette company founder R.J. Reynolds, explained to area residents last week at Saint Francis Hospital’s annual HeartFest in Evanston.

HeartFest, which began in 2001, included free cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure screenings, a healthy cooking demonstration and physician lectures, concluding with a keynote speech from Reynolds—the festival’s first non-physician keynote speaker.

The American Lung Association cites cigarette smoking as the number one cause of preventable disease and death worldwide, with more than 392,000 Americans dying from smoking-related diseases each year.

Before a packed auditorium of about 100 attendees, Reynolds, 62, spoke of the loss of his great grandfather, father and brother to tobacco-related illnesses, which led him on a worldwide mission to fight the empire his family built.

The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, one of the largest tobacco companies in the United States, is responsible for brands such as Camel, Kool, Winston and Salem.

“Cigarettes took my dad away from me,” Reynolds said. “That had a lot to do with why I chose to turn my back on the tobacco companies and walk away.”

But Reynolds, a former actor in Hollywood and a former smoker, not only walked away, he sold his company stock in 1979, and later spoke up before a Congressional hearing on tobacco advertising in 1986—which would later lead to more than two decades of speaking before hospitals, health organizations, universities, schools and government officials domestically and abroad.

Reynolds also founded the nonprofit The Foundation for a Smokefree America in 1989.

Reynolds and his brothers were not actively involved in the family company at the time, he added, but rather stockholders—and he said they “agreed to disagree.”

“Rather than being an embarrassment to the family, it turned out, I was a credit to the Reynolds name,” he said.

Smoking is a relevant topic when talking about heart health.

For instance, Saint Francis Hospital, known for its cardiac care, sees more than 36,000 patients per year in its emergency department, said Margo Schafer, hospital director of public relations. And, more than half of those patients are seen for chest pain, coronary artery disease, COPD (pulmonary) complications or other illnesses that are caused by or complicated by smoking, Schafer added.

Smoking negatively affects nearly every organ in the body and is the leading cause of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema, according to the American Lung Association’s Web site.

Reynolds focused on tobacco advertising, prevention funding and tobacco taxes.

As of January 2008, the Smoke-Free Illinois Act has required public places and places of employment are free of smoke within 15 feet of entrances, windows, etc. As of February 2008, the Evanston Clean Air Act has similar restrictions, but with a 25-foot restriction.

Reynolds credited Illinois with clean air. However, he said there’s still work to be done.

He discussed cigarettes ads, which specifically target young people and minorities.

He spoke of disparities between dollars spent on tobacco advertising, versus state and federal resources for tobacco prevention.

“The total recommended annual investment for the nation to fully fund tobacco control programs is $3.7 billion, a fraction of the $13.4 billion the tobacco industry spends each year to market and promote their products,” according to the Centers for Disease Control’s Web site.

Finally, Reynolds said some taxes are good.

“[Increased smoking taxes] (give) smokers a strong financial incentive to quit,” Reynolds said. “And, tobacco taxes will keep our kids from starting to smoke.”

Reynolds advised audience members who want to spread the word about prevention and quitting should “talk from your heart,”—a message that rang true for Evanston resident Monica Croft, who attended the event.

Croft said she has a nephew who smokes, and also is concerned that her daughter will pick up the habit.

“The more knowledge they have, then the better chances that they won’t [smoke],” Croft said. “My mother, father and brother all three died of heart attacks, so I’m trying to get as much knowledge as I can and pass it on to my family.”

—By Blair Chavis|Triblocal.com reporter

Triblocal.com photos by Blair Chavis