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Faith-Based Institutions Give Smoking Cessation Message to West Virginia Residents

6/3/2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The increased incidence of smoking in rural West Virginia communities is the catalyst for a new collaborative effort, “A Tobacco Cessation Project for Disadvantaged West Virginia Communities,” between the American Legacy Foundation and Community Voices Inc. This four-year program studies the disparities in successful smoking cessation efforts between participants living in rural West Virginia and those living in the more urban areas of the state. Rural and low-income populations have typically been underserved by tobacco control programs and cessation campaigns.

Adults who live in rural areas of the United States have among the highest smoking rates in the country. West Virginia ranks the second highest in adult tobacco use. Twenty-seven percent of West Virginia residents are reported tobacco users, far in excess of the 21 percent prevalence for the U.S., overall. Limited access to healthcare providers, low literacy levels and fewer media resources are a few factors that contribute to high tobacco use in the state.

Of the 725 participants, 385 successfully quit using tobacco due to the cessation project and its culturally-focused and tailored messages. Free medical examinations, continuous educational sessions, a supply of nicotine replacement therapy and follow-up support group meetings were key program components.

Utilizing faith-based institutions to integrate cessation awareness and to promote the harmful health affects of tobacco use proved to be significantly successful for the African-American community. In terms of tobacco use history, African-Americans reporting cigarette, cigar and smokeless tobacco use have had more difficulty quitting than their white counterparts. Through the Partnership of African-American Churches, the West Virginia project gained increased participation from the African-American community and consequently, African-American participants had a significant 77 percent quit rate compared to the 52 percent quit rate of white participants.

Culturally, the African-American church serves as a landmark institution for families and communities.“Tobacco cessation projects like the Disadvantaged West Virginia Communities initiative should serve as a model for how we reach priority populations,” said Cheryl Healton, Dr. P.H. President and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation. “We must tailor cessation messages to fit the infrastructure and economic needs of the region and/or ethnic population, the approach of the EX campaign continues to support the idea of tailoring cessation messages.”

Recently the American Legacy Foundation launched a new public health campaign called EX^®, to change the way smokers think about the difficult process of quitting, and guide them to valuable free resources that are tailored for low literacy, African-American and Hispanic populations. EX tools were designed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and with input from former and current smokers who have lived with this struggle, in order to provide smokers with a realistic approach based on evidence-based research. For more information on how EX can help smokers re-learn their lives without cigarettes, visit http://www.becomeanex.org/.

The American Legacy Foundation^® is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The foundation’s programs include truth^®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX^®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit http://www.americanlegacy.org/.

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Contact: Najma Roberts, 202-454-5561, nroberts@americanlegacy.org