CPC's Fight For A Smoke-Free Community

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Unacceptably High Smoking Rates in the Asian-American Population: What Can We Do About It?

The Great American Smoke Out

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Founded in 1965, the Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc. (CPC) is one of the largest nonprofit providers of educational, social, and community services for Asian Americans in the United States. It now serves over 8,000 people daily through some 50+ programs in 25 locations citywide. CPC's mission is to improve the quality of life of Chinese-Americans in New York City by providing access to services, skills, and resources toward the goal of economic self-sufficiency and integration into the American mainstream.

CPC Central Office
150 Elizabeth Street
New York, New York 10012
(212) 941-0920

www.cpc-nyc.org

Unacceptably High Smoking Rates in the Asian-American Population:
What Can We Do About it?

bklyn smoke free forum jan 2013

(Photo Credit: Brooklyn Smoke-Free Partnership)

On January 30, 2013, in collaboration with the Brooklyn Smoke-Free Partnership health advocacy group, CPC Brooklyn Branch had hosted a Smoke-Free forum in order to raise awareness on the troubling smoking rates of young Asian Americans in NYC's Brooklyn, which continued to rise over the years, as well as to promote intervention to lower the incidences of cigarette smoking.

Cigarette smoking remains a serious growing concern among those in the Brooklyn community and the damaging long-term consequences cannot be stressed enough. Sunset Park, home of CPC's Brooklyn Branch, is especially impacted by this trend.

Guest Panelists included Dr. Bing Lu, MD, PhD, MBA, FACP, Dr. Evaristo Akerele, MD, Dr. Simona C. Kwon, DrPH, MPH, Dr. Mary Choy, PharmD, Mr. Douglas Nam Le, and Ms. Serena Huang. Each expert panelists took turns to offer their unique occupational perspectives on topics, such as health implications, population characteristics of smokers and the role of advertising to name a few, based on their observation and research. The forum provided a brilliant opportunity for attendees to share their insights as well as discuss their own personal experiences.

Dr. Bing Lu - "Cigarette smoking poisons almost every organ, every tissue in your body. Out of all the cancers, lung cancer is the biggest."

Dr. Evaristo Akerele - "16.2% of Asian American adolescents initiated smoking between ages 13-16 with men more likely than women. The problem is that Asian men's smoking rate has not decreased significantly since 2002."

Dr. Simona C. Kwon - "In our research, we focused on Asian American enclaves and collected 900 surveys. One thing we found was that Korean American men reported the highest current smoking rate, twice that of Chinese men and triple that of Indian men. It was also found that Asian American men living in Sunset Park have the highest smoking rate while it is the lowest among women."

Dr. Mary Choy - "Tobacco companies spend about $1 million every day in New York just on advertising. Chain stores are being associated with these negative tobacco types of marketing."

Sinovision NY Coverage: http://video.sinovision.net/?id=10358

The Great American Smokeout:
"Take A Step Toward a Healthier Life"

Queens Smoke Free Nov 2012 - Great American Smoke Out

November 2012, youth and community leaders paid tribute to the 37th Great American Smokeout, a nationwide event that educates people about the hazards of tobacco and encourages smokers to quit for good. It was a day of celebration for young people who do not smoke or who have chosen to quit smoking.

In coordination with the Queens Smoke-Free Partnership, the Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc., Boys Club New York, American Cancer Society, and Asthma Coalition of Queens worked together and commit to the effort of making positive changes for our younger generation. "I am thrilled that the Chinese-American Planning Council is hosting an event with youth for the Great American Smokeout," said Yvette Buckner, Borough Manager for the Queens Smoke-Free Partnership. "There are approximately 5,000 teens that currently smoke in Queens and we must double and triple our efforts to provide educational events and activities to help stem the tide of youth smokers in our borough."

Through interactive trivia games and informative presentations, the groups used the Great American Smokeout to raise awareness and educate youth and their parents on tobacco marketing, impact of smoking and tobacco use and asthma self-management skills. It is an important action to limit youth exposure to this dangerous and deadly influence.

For more information or to join our cause and help support the Queens Smoke-Free Partnership, please contact Chai Lian Gan by email clgan@cpc-nyc.org or call (718) 358-8899 ext 150. Smoke-Free Website: www.nycsmokefree.org