FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2019
www.coloradoblackhealthcollaborative.org
CBHC’s New Awareness Campaign Tackles Menthol Tobacco Use in the Black/African American Community
Denver, CO – As part of its on-going mission to achieve health equity in Colorado’s Black community, the Colorado Black Health Collaborative (CBHC) today launched a new social media awareness campaign entitled, Tackling Menthol Tobacco Use in the Black Community. The purpose of the campaign is to start conversations, spread the word, and raise awareness about the health disparities and harmful health impact that smoking menthol tobacco and other flavored tobacco products has on the Black/African American community.
Recent studies have shown that 88% of Black smokers over 12 years old prefer menthol cigarettes. Due to this alarming statistic, CBHC’s campaign seeks to raise awareness about the health impact of smoking tobacco products as well as Big Tobacco companies continuing to undermine the progress made to reduce smoking rates, especially among Black youth, by increasing the promotion and purchase of candy-flavored Juul’s and e-cigarettes.
“Big Tobacco’s new marketing, manipulation and money continues to lead more and more Black/African American youth and adults down a dangerous path of chronic health problems and addiction to menthol tobacco products for years to come”, says Dr. Terri Richardson, MD, Vice Chairperson of CBHC. ‘Educating the community about the impact of menthol tobacco use and how to access resources that help people to quit smoking is at the heart of our campaign effort’.
In addition, the campaign seeks to provide opportunities to inform individuals about how to access smoking cessation resources to help them quit. Recent studies show 74% of Black smokers reported having a desire to quit and many have tried. However, despite attempts to stop smoking many Blacks/African Americans are often less successful possibly due to the preference to smoke menthol tobacco products which are highly addictive.
“Our campaign is timely as the rates of smoking menthol tobacco and other flavored tobacco products continues to rise among Black youth which requires an immediate response and call to action”, says Thelma Craig, Chairperson at CBHC. “Now is the time to tackle this issue through building a strong community coalition of adults and youth to help spread awareness and encourage them to get involved to determine what to do about it in Colorado”.
To find out more about information contact CBHC at (720) 579-2126, e-mail: [email protected] or visit www.coloradoblackhealth.org.
About the Colorado Black Health Collaborative
The Colorado Black Health Collaborative (CBHC) is a 501 C-3, nonprofit organization with a mission to achieve health equity in Colorado’s Black/African American communities. We strive to improve health and wellness among Colorado’s Black/African American communities through collaborations, partnerships, and teaming arrangements with community-based organizations, other nonprofits, public organizations, private entities, government agencies, and specialized committees comprised of community members. The strategies we employ focus on improving culturally appropriate health care, race and trust issues in healthcare environments, patient empowerment, self- care, stress reduction and preventative care.