“Arkansas ranks fifth in the nation for the highest percentage of adults who smoke – an unwelcome distinction from a health perspective,” Charles O. Cranford, D.D.S., M.P.A., vice chancellor for regional programs at UAMS, says.  “As a result, the state has the second-highest death rate from lung cancer and the fourth-highest rate for deaths directly attributed to smoking.”

Competition for American Legacy Foundation grants is stiff. Project Director Gaylene Mooney said, “Of the 187 applicants for grants, only 32 were funded, including our proposal. The process in highly competitive. Fifteen organizations received a one-year grant and 17 entities, like us, received three-year grants in the range of $75,000 to $200,000 per year.”

Cheryl Healton, the foundation’s president and chief executive officer, praised UAMS for its commitment to reducing tobacco use.

“We are pleased to offer this grant to the university and to help them expand their efforts to reduce tobacco use among the African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian-American, and low socio-economic status populations,” Healton said. “Legacy is committed to working with partners at the local level to reduce tobacco use across the nation, and we believe that local organizations are in a great position to affect social and behavioral norms around tobacco use.”

The project in southwest Arkansas will expand effective, clinically-based smoking cessation services through expanded training; foster tobacco control programs that are comprehensive and culturally sensitive; and improve smokers’ quit rate by increasing the number of AHEC clinics with formal protocols for identifying smokers, assessing their readiness to quit, making appropriate referrals, improving long-term follow-up and tracking of of program participants.

Legacy has distributed $8.5 million in grants to 32 organizations in 18 states to help reduce tobacco use among one or more disadvantaged populations including racial and ethnic minorities, focusing on African-Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics/ Latinos, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender people, and low-income populations. Grant recipients include community-based organizations, universities, and county health departments. Legacy will distribute a total of $21 million.

The American Legacy Foundation is a national, independent, public health foundation in Washington, DC, created by the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. The foundation collaborates with organizations that are interested in decreasing tobacco consumption among all ages and populations nationwide and has established goals to reduce youth tobacco use, decrease exposure to second-hand smoke, increase successful quit rates and reduce disparities in access to prevention and cessation services and in exposure to secondhand smoke.

Links on This Page

AHEC Helps: http://www.uams.edu/info/Updates/October01/ahec.htm
Rockefeller Trust: http://www.uams.edu/today/090601/wrgrant.htm
Grant Helps: http://www.uams.edu/today/080201/rural.htm
Area Health Education Center: http://www.uams.edu/ahec/AHEC23.HTM
American Legacy Foundation: www.AmericanLegacy.org