Smoking prevention grant monies available

One year after Louisiana went smoke-free in schools, restaurants and the workplace, the Tobacco Free Living campaign has $540,000 in community grant funds to spread around to non-profits looking to begin smoke prevention programs in their areas.

Regional Coordinator Tante Chatman said three community-based organizations in the Tri-parish area can receive up to $20,000 each to support the prevention programs that empower the population disproportionately impacted by tobacco.

“The tobacco industry directly targets youth and other segments of the population,” Chatman explained. “For instance, women, adults over the age of 50 and the (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) communities are being deceived with advertising tactics, sponsorships and messages designed to lure them into developing or continuing behaviors that have dangerous, lifelong health impacts.”

The grant program is part of the Tobacco Free Living statewide effort to increase awareness about health problems associated with tobacco use. Chatman said, with education awareness and action, Louisiana can successfully reduce the toll of smoking in the state.

All the grant recipients will be required to incorporate Media Sharp, an evidence-based media literacy program that helps people critically assess how the tobacco industry normalizes, glamorizes and creates role models for unhealthy lifestyles and behaviors.

The tobacco industry spends $295 million annually to market deadly products in Louisiana alone, according to Chatman. She said 23 percent of the adults in Louisiana are smokers and more than 7,700 children under 18 become smokers every year.

“By exposing the tobacco industry’s deliberate and misleading tactics to recruit and maintain smokers, we arm children and adults with the knowledge they need to make the choice not to smoke,” she said.

The grant program applications are available online by visiting the smoke-free Web site www.tobaccofreeliving.org. The deadline for submission is April 11 at 4 p.m. Organizations must provide proof of their 501(c) 3 tax-exempt status to be eligible.

Grant recipients will be announced on June 18. Organizations wanting to find out more about the grant program can attend a general interest meeting Thursday, March 6, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., at the Region 3 Office of Public Health, 1434 Tiger Drive in Thibodaux.

For more information, contact Chatman at (985) 447-0916, extension 350.