"ETS and Community Empowerment"

     ETS exposure in the home, which is completely preventable, is an important predictor of increased morbidity among children (Office of Smoking and Health).  Researchers estimate that second-hand smoke is responsible for between 40-60% of cases of asthma, bronchitis, and wheezing among young children (Gergen, 1).  According to the Pierce report, African Americans in California are more likely than other racial groups to smoke in the home.  Recent Studies indicate that approximately, only 75.3% of African American children and adolescents lived in smoke free homes as compared to over 90% for Hispanics and Asians.

      The African American Tobacco Education Network of California under the direction of Brenda Bell Caffee evaluated this disturbing information and created a campaign to address a need to educate the community regarding ETS.  Because many African American households are female headed, according to census data, we decided to direct our message of ETS and its affects to family in our homes through mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and sisters.  In “Not in Mama’s Kitchen”, an education focused campaign, we created a collaboration with churches, schools, CBO’s, and the community itself to get commitment pledges signed by women to not allow smoking in their house or car on Mother’s Day 1999.

      Survey data revealed that of respondents, 96% stated that they would continue to maintain a smoke free home and car beyond the campaign.  The program has been so well received that Brenda Bell Caffee, CEO and founder of Caffee, Caffee and Associates PHF, Inc., continues to receive request from communities and states that has caused the programs longevity to surpass its completion date well into this new millennium.  And to date has educated an excess of 150,000 families, with over 50 cities participating and a collection of over 30,000 pledges to establish in home smoke free policies.

      The NIMK program has proven to be an excellent tool to facilitate coalition building and increase the capacity of communities who come together to implement this program in the elimination of secondhand smoke in homes and cars.  We enter communities with a goal to crate a sustainable community based effort by utilizing three major objectives while customizing the artwork necessary to:

OBJECTIVE 1.  Frame tobacco control issues while engaging residents and inspiring their participation with knowledge that our contact may be their first introduction to addressing tobacco control issues. 

OBJECTIVE 2.  Create community based tobacco control strategies that encourage sustainability.

OBJECTIVE 3.  Move the spectrum from traditional community participation to a more meaningful level of engagement that allows audiences to be actively involved in decision makings that will ultimately result in measurable improvements in the quality of their lives.