ANTI-SMOKING EFFORTS: Need to Target Teens, Minorities in California
If California is to remain one of the nation's leaders in tobacco control, local and statewide efforts "must be expanded," according to the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program. In its 1998 annual report to the state Legislature, the TRDRP says that "continued vigilance" is needed to curb the "increased prevalence of tobacco use among Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islander, African American and American Indian" teenagers. Future challenges will have to focus on "reversing increases in youth smoking" and reducing the economic toll of smoking in the state, which "is well over $10 billion per year," according to the TRDRP. The TRDRP funds various projects, which are designed to gain better insights into tobacco use patterns. These projects include: studies of indoor smoke, the genetic effects of smoking, smokeless tobacco use among teens, smoking among different populations, smoking by gay men, maternal smoking and its effects on fetal and adolescent development, the link between nicotine and aggression, prevention efforts among minorities, smoking among the deaf, industry advertising and Web sites as an effective anti-smoking tool (report, 4/99). For more information on the report or the various projects, call 510-987-9870.
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