Breathe California and Korean American Community Services Kickoff Community Advocacy Project.
On February 23, two local agencies joined together to launch their latest efforts to reduce the impact of tobacco use in the community. At their headquarters on Park Avenue, Breathe California staff trained close to a dozen individuals from Korean American Community Services (K.A.C.S.) on a range of tobacco issues. After learning about the health consequences associated with smoking and the dangers of secondhand smoke exposure, the youth participants began their work to bring about significant change in the community.
With guidance from their Breathe California friends, the K.A.C.S. participants initiated their public outreach campaign through the first of many in-person community assessments. The youth began interviews with local residents to better understand public attitudes on smoking. They also surveyed a number of local businesses to ascertain the prevalence of smoking near/at the location, the availability of tobacco products for purchase, the type of tobacco advertisements present, and conformity with existing tobacco-related laws or policies.
Throughout the assessment process, the youth will be targeting individuals and businesses from the Korean community due to the high smoking rates among Korean men. This heightened prevalence has the potential to increase future cases of tobacco related illness, disease and death in the Korean community. And due to the tremendous impact of secondhand smoke on all individuals, these health risks threaten not only Korean smokers, but the public at large.
After the extensive surveying process is completed, Breathe
California staff and K.A.C.S. youth
will use the assessments to evaluate the most pressing tobacco-related problems
and formulate a strategy to remedy them. By implementing an appropriate
community-based response, such as advocating for local policies, expanding
tobacco control services, and/or initiating a new public awareness campaign,
the project participants are confident that they will be able to reduce
the impact of tobacco use in the Korean community.