Release Date: April 10, 2008
Contact: Christine Patmon, Metro Health Public Relations Manager, 207-8638
Metro Health Receives State Funding to Reduce Tobacco Use
Initiative will be latest effort for Population-Based Services Division
City Council gave Metro Health approval today to receive a nearly $340,000 state grant to prevent and reduce tobacco use in San Antonio and Bexar County. Metro Health will use the funds from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to develop tobacco prevention and control strategies through a comprehensive and culturally-appropriate program.
The department successfully applied for the grant through a new DSHS initiative called the Tobacco Prevention and Control Coalition Program. Funding, which is derived from the State’s 1998 court settlements with the tobacco industry, will provide resources for a community coalition to reduce the burden of tobacco-related diseases, disabilities and deaths.
“This is a critical program for us to implement,” said Dr. Bryan Alsip, assistant director of Metro Health. “From a public health perspective, evidence shows that there is no other single intervention which has a greater potential to reduce premature deaths and disability, spiraling health care costs, and loss of economic productivity than preventing tobacco use and second-hand smoke. We can save lives, money, and reduce needless suffering by helping people quit smoking and making sure young people never start in the first place.”
Each year, tobacco-related diseases claim the lives of 24,100 Texans – more than deaths from AIDS; heroin, cocaine, and alcohol abuse; motor vehicle accidents; fires; and homicides combined. Tobacco use annually accounts for billions of dollars in health-related costs and mortality-related economic losses.
Members of the San Antonio Tobacco Prevention and Control Coalition (SA-TPCC) include the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, South Central Area Health Education Center, Texas Diabetes Institute, and the San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Community and faith-based leaders along with other individuals who have been personally impacted by tobacco are also encouraged to participate.
These partners will work with Metro Health to assess tobacco prevention and control needs; build capacity and partnerships to address the needs; and plan, implement and evaluate proven programs designed to address tobacco use among adults and youth.
The department’s Population-based Services Division will coordinate this new initiative. The division was created last year to assess and identify the health needs of the community, and to provide evidence-based resources to assure optimal health and well being. Population-based Services is also addressing alcohol use and abuse, diabetes, obesity, nutrition, and teen pregnancy along with other community health concerns.
For more information, call Special Projects Manager Leonard Trevino at 207-2722.
