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Wake County Tobacco Prevention and Control Initiative
Tobacco use remains the number one preventable cause of death and disease in our community, state and nation. The Wake County Tobacco Prevention and Control initiative, formerly known as Project ASSIST, is funded by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This local effort involves collaboration with local, regional and state partners working on smoke-free environments, tobacco-free lifestyles, awareness education about the harms of all tobacco products and promotion of evidence-based quit interventions to reduce the burden of tobacco in our community.
The purpose of the initiative is to prevent deaths and health problems attributable to tobacco use.
The local community goals mirror the state goals, which include:
- Prevent initiation of smoking and other tobacco use;
- Eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke;
- Help tobacco-users who want to quit; and
- Identify and eliminate tobacco-related health disparities.
Key strategies include:
- Community interventions
- Counter-marketing or media interventions
- Policy or environmental change interventions
- Surveillance and evaluation
For more information, contact:
Michaela Hoenig
Tobacco Prevention and Control Coordinator
919-609-9479
Wake County Tobacco-Free Coalition
The Wake County Tobacco-Free Coalition is a collaboration of Wake County Public Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Program and local partners who are passionate about decreasing tobacco use and improving the health of the community.
The Coalition is committed to educating and implementing new and existing tobacco policies including preventing youth from starting, helping people who use tobacco to quit, assisting in the reduction of and protection from second-hand smoke, and reducing tobacco use among groups that are disproportionately affected and/or at high risk.
What is our mission?
To empower the residents of Wake County to create a tobacco-free environment through education, prevention, public policy, advocacy and a commitment to the health of the community.
What are our goals?
- Advocate and assist in the adoption and implementation of tobacco-free policies throughout Wake County.
- Support the reduction of tobacco use among groups that are disproportionately affected and/or at high risk of tobacco use.
Why does Wake County need a tobacco coalition?
- Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death, disability, and disease. Roughly 14,200 North Carolinians die every year from tobacco-related diseases. This is more than from AIDS, car accidents, alcohol, murders, illegal drugs, suicide, and fires combined.
- Every year more than 2,700 North Carolina youth become daily tobacco users. More than 1,515,900 North Carolinians are regular smokers.
- Tobacco contains more the 4,000 chemicals including 69 cancer-causing agents.
- Vaping rates among NC youth have increased by 1,123% since 2011
- $3.81 billion in annual health care costs in North Carolina directly caused by smoking
- $931.4 million in Medicaid costs caused by smoking in North Carolina
- $4.24 billion smoking-caused productivity losses in North Carolina
When and where do we meet?
The Tobacco-Free Coalition of Wake County meets on a quarterly basis. If you would like to attend Coalition meetings, please send an email request to Michaela Hoenig at Michaela.Hoenig@wake.gov.