Reducing Tobacco Use Among
Underserved Populations
August 2010
Good health for all
Research shows that tobacco use among some population groups is higher than for
the general population. These groups often have less access to prevention,
treatment, and other resources. These differences result in a disparity or a
disproportionate occurrence of tobacco-related death and disease. Eliminating
tobacco-related disparities is a primary goal of the Department of Health’s
Tobacco Prevention and Control Program (Tobacco Program).
Strategic planning
The Tobacco Program
convened a cross-cultural workgroup on tobacco in April 2001 to identify
innovative ways of eliminating tobacco-related disparities. The workgroup
included organizations from culturally diverse populations, existing Tobacco
Program contractors, and others working to address health disparities. In 2003,
the workgroup completed the
Strategic Plan for
Identifying and Eliminating Tobacco-Related Health Disparities in Washington
State, based on
six critical issues:
-
Lack of
sustained funding.
-
Lack
of outreach and access to programs and services.
-
Low priority of the tobacco
issue in high-risk communities.
-
Institutional racism.
-
Lack of focused resources.
-
Tobacco companies’ targeting
of specific communities.
In
2008, the Tobacco Program made addressing tobacco-related disparities a top
priority in its new 5-year strategic plan. By doing so the Program committed to
reducing these disparities through the following activities:
-
Improving the
Program’s ability to gather, analyze and share data related to tobacco-related
disparities.
-
Supporting evaluation
and research to identify promising approaches.
-
Adopting policies and
practices that improve the Program’s ability to work with underserved
communities and reduce health disparities related to chronic disease.
-
Partnering with other
organizations and agencies.
-
Mobilizing community
leaders and organizations.
-
Designing and
carrying out community-specific educational and public awareness efforts.
-
Tracking and reducing
tobacco industry marketing targeted to underserved communities.
Ongoing efforts
Since 2003, when the
original disparities plan was completed, the Washington State Tobacco Program
has become one of the leaders nationally in addressing tobacco-related
disparities. Making disparities work a top priority has encouraged the program
to expand and adopt its public awareness, community involvement, policy
development, and data gathering efforts. Currently the program is seeking ways
to integrate tobacco prevention efforts into broader, community-based efforts to
reduce the impact of chronic disease.
Evaluation
Nationally, little is
known about whether practices to reduce tobacco use in the general population
will work in populations burdened by tobacco-related disparities (such as
racial-ethnic groups and those living in poverty). The Tobacco Program is
committed to evaluating its efforts with the goal of identifying promising
approaches that can be used nationwide.
A
comprehensive approach to fighting tobacco use
Research shows that tobacco prevention programs must conduct a
comprehensive set of strategies to be effective. The Washington State
Tobacco Prevention and Control Program provides services to help people
quit, conducts public awareness and media campaigns, supports local
programs in communities and schools, supports enforcement of policies to
keep kids from accessing tobacco products, and evaluates the effectiveness
of program activities.
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