About Us
In 2001, the TPCP at the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) engaged a diverse workgroup to strategies about a process to identify and eliminate tobacco- related disparities that exist in Utah. This workgroup established five goals:
- 1. Minimize gaps in data that limit the identification of tobacco- related disparities.
- 2 .Create a comprehensive communication network among disparately affected populations.
- 3. Ensure that all program and material development is culturally and linguistically competent.
- 4. Increase the capacity to reduce tobacco use among disparately affected populations.
- 5 .Educate and influence state and local policy makers and community opinion leaders about tobacco- related disparities.
Project Success Coalition/ Harambee African American TPCN is one of the networks created to address tobacco prevention and control disparity issues in the state of Utah. Harambee means “pulling together” in Swahili. It has been this pulling together that contributed to the overall decease of tobacco use in Utah. Since the Master Settlement Agreement-funded programs were initiated, Utah adult smoking decreased by 25% from 14.0% in 1999 to 10.5% in 2004. But there is much work to be done in the African American community.
Although tobacco use rates have declined, more than 1,100 Utahans still die each year from smoking related causes. Furthermore, according to the Fifth Annual Report of the TPCN, the Utah economy loses an estimated $530 million to smoking-attributable medical and productivity costs each year. A long term commitment to tobacco control is necessary to save lives and reduce smoking –related health care and losses of productivity costs.
A contributing factor to the decrease in the overall number of smokers in Utah is due in part to the TRUTH campaign. This multiple media campaign educates Utahans about the dangers of tobacco and motivates people to avoid tobacco use and to create smoke free environments.
Vision
To Send the Call and To Sound the Alarm for A Tobacco Free African American Community in Utah.
Mission
To Send the Call and To Sound the Alarm for A Tobacco Free African American Community in Utah.
Tobacco is Not an Equal Opportunity Killer
Tobacco use among African Americans is higher than for the general population. Many factors contribute to that usage. One factor is the continuing attempt by the tobacco industry to target the African American community by maintaining a positive image and garnishing public support by supporting cultural events and making contributions to minority higher education institutions, elected officers, civic and community organizations and scholarship programs. The tobacco industry invests millions of dollars in advertising targeting the African American community. One study found that three African American publications – Ebony, Jet and Essence- receive proportionately higher profits from cigarette advertisements than did other magazines. Further adding fuel to the fire, the United States Surgeon General reported that sixty-six percent of cigarette advertisements in African American magazines were for menthol cigarettes.
The results of tobacco use among African Americans are devastating. Each year, more African Americans die from diseases caused by smoking than from murders, AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse, and car crashes combined. The According to the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, 47,000 African Americans die each year from a smoking- related disease. An estimated 1.6 million African Americans who are now under the age of eighteen will become regular smokers and of those smokers, 500,000 will eventually die of a smoking-related disease. A breakdown of the statistics from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion reveals that:
- Smoking is responsible for 87% of lung cancer. African American men are at least 50% more likely to develop lung cancer than white men and have a higher mortality rate of lung cancer than do white men.
- Stroke is associated with cerebral-vascular disease and is a major cause of death in the United States. Smoking significantly elevates the risk of stroke. Cerebra-vascular disease is twice as high among African American men and women as their white counterparts. However, the good news is that of the current African American smokers, more than 70% indicated that they want to quit smoking completely. Project Success Coalition/ Harambee African American Tobacco Prevention and Control Network (TPCP) have actively worked to help these individuals achieve their goal.
Principle 1: History is essential in understanding the present.
The Utah African American community is well aware of the reality of social inequality. Distinct social patterns of unequal access to resources have resulted and are a part of the current reality. This knowledge base must inform our overall strategies for tobacco control and disparity intervention if we are to be successful.
Principle 2: Community is central to our success.
The Utah African American community is a complex configuration of social, cultural and geographic realities, but we are One. It is with this understanding that our efforts begin and end within the African American community.
Principle 3: Help comes from within and without.
The Utah African American community does not function in isolation. We are a part of a greater whole. We must serve in a leadership role in efforts to eliminate tobacco-related disparities with our community but we must do it in concert with others.
Principle 4 Industry regulation and public policy play key roles.
We must move from crisis intervention in our communities to building models with core elements that guide our work and sustain our communities. Those models include major changes in industry regulation and city/ county polices. We are seeking sustained change at all levels.