Mecklenburg County's Tobacco Prevention and Control team promotes culturally appropriate and best-practice strategies to reduce deaths and health problems due to tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke or e-cigarette aerosols. All residents in our community deserve a healthy home, workplace, and community where tobacco use is no longer the social norm.
Maurice Robinson started smoking when he was 14 years old, encouraged by peers and wanting to appear cool. By the time he turned 18, smoking had become a habit.
Not until he suffered a heart attack four years ago was Maurice Robinson, now 63, ready to quit smoking. Robinson says he was unaware of smoking’s danger when he started, and by the time he realized the risks, he had become addicted to nicotine.
“Looking back,” he says, “I definitely believe if they had the information then that they do now, I don’t think I would have started smoking.”
“As a father and grandfather, I want to help my community, especially the younger generations, to avoid the health problems that I have had,” says Robinson. “I want young people to know that cool-looking habit when you’re a teenager will harm your body.”
Mecklenburg County Public Health (MCPH) leaders want to make sure a new generation clearly understands the hazards and risks of tobacco use by taking the information to the community with a fresh approach and message. “We are committed to our community’s health,” says Dr. Kimberly Scott, Mecklenburg County Public Health Assistant Director of Population Health. “Popular culture has encouraged tobacco use as an option for young people without understanding the long-term health impacts. We need to amplify our education and advocacy efforts while implementing evidence-informed strategies to reduce tobacco’s prevalence in our communities.”
Mecklenburg County Public Health is convening a Multicultural Tobacco-Free Coalition to shine a light on tobacco disparities (groups with the highest tobacco use rates resulting in higher levels of heart disease, cancer, COPD and other tobacco-related illness) and advocate for policies and actions proven to reduce tobacco’s toll. The coalition will comprise of community partners, residents and others committed to educating the public about the dangers of tobacco use and to create tobacco-free spaces across Mecklenburg County.
“We are launching a coalition that is centered on engaging our community around this very important topic,” says Allison Nelson, Mecklenburg County Public Health Senior Manager of the Office of Chronic Disease Policy & Prevention. We cannot take for granted that everyone knows all tobacco use is detrimental to your health and others’ health. Our goal is to meet our residents where they are and build capacity for tobacco retail point-of-sale strategies, hard-hitting public tobacco awareness campaigns, and policies for tobacco-free environments. Tobacco marketing glamorizes this addictive habit. Therefore, we need to be equally assertive in advocacy.”
Organizers say Mecklenburg County Public Health’s Tobacco-Free Coalition approach will be different since it is community-led, focused on health equity and accompanied by a public awareness campaign.
Funded by The Center for Black Health & Equity, the coalition will unite diverse voices to address tobacco’s impact in disproportionately impacted communities.
Why it matters
Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death and the primary cause of chronic diseases in Mecklenburg County. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), tobacco use is the highest among communities of color and other historically underserved populations. The Truth Tobacco Industry Documents show how tobacco disparities are not a coincidence. The tobacco industry directly markets to groups experiencing high levels of stress and trauma. The location and oversaturation of tobacco retail stores and outdoor ads also influence more tobacco use, as shown through various studies at The Aspire Center, a National Cancer Institute funded tobacco retail research collaborative.
Non-Hispanic Black men have the highest rates of lung cancer in the United States. In Mecklenburg County, Black men have higher age-adjusted rates of death from all forms of cancer, including lung, colon and pancreatic cancer, according to the 2022 Mecklenburg County Community Health Assessment. Tobacco use is a primary risk factor for these cancers.
“Unfortunately, the tobacco industry’s advertising works. It is well-documented by the National Cancer Institute,” said Jasmine Simmons, Mecklenburg County Public Health’s Tobacco Control Coordinator with the Office of Chronic Disease Policy & Prevention. “This is our time to build an informed coalition that will unite against tobacco disparities and advocate for policies to ensure a tobacco-free Mecklenburg,”
Targeted advertising
The U.S. tobacco industry has historically targeted Black and Brown communities, particularly for the sale of menthol cigarettes, which create a cooling sensation to mask the harshness and taste of tobacco.
According to the CDC, overexposure to tobacco advertisements can lead to higher tobacco use rates. In a recent survey of 128 local retail tobacco store scans, more than 70% of tobacco retailers were located within a half-mile or walking distance of K-12 schools which increases the risk of youth exposure to tobacco marketing messages.
Researchers at Stanford University reported that more than half of all smokers ages 12 to 20 start smoking with menthol cigarettes, and 90% of Black teenagers who smoke start with menthol (2022). An estimated 85% of Black/African American tobacco users of all ages use menthol cigarettes today, up from 5% in 1950.
As a result of these data findings, Mecklenburg County Public Health recently launched a campaign called “Quit Menthol Your Way” to raise awareness about the harmful effects of menthol-flavored tobacco and link the community to quit resources. The multimedia campaign was designed in partnership with community members likely to use menthol products or be exposed to harmful menthol marketing messages. The campaign included radio and digital ads, CATS bus and gas station ads, and print ads.
Time to act
Looking back to his teenage years, Robinson remembers seeing advertisements that made smoking seem glamorous.
“All the cool dudes had cigarettes, and the pretty girls had cigarettes,” he says. Eventually, he was smoking a pack a day.
Then, in 2019, on a Monday before Thanksgiving, Robinson suffered a heart attack. He was given a stent and advised to quit smoking. His doctor prescribed a nicotine patch, but he didn’t feel like paying for the prescription, so he didn’t fill it.
Back home, Robinson bought more cigarettes and resumed smoking. His chest began hurting, and he had to take three nitroglycerine pills before the pain subsided. He threw the cigarettes away, he said, and bought the patches. He hasn’t smoked a cigarette since, he says.
Robinson now serves as a community leader in the Inlivian community where he lives. He says he understands and respects the choices of smokers, but he is available to share his story and provide information about quitting with anyone interested.
“A person is not going to do anything they are not ready to do,” he says. “But when the time comes, they will know what to do and how to do it.” For those who are ready and may need more help, QuitlineNC is available 24/7 with free quit coaching and nicotine replacement medications.
To recruit coalition members, MCPH is reaching out to community residents, including those with lived experience with tobacco use, and community-based organizations. Members will engage in work groups focused on public policy, tobacco treatment, data, and communications, in addition to receiving training from The Center for Black Health & Equity.
An interest meeting for the Multicultural Tobacco-Free Coalition took place on January 25th, 2024. Community members gathered for a screening of Black Lives/Black Lungs and to discuss actions the coalition will take in reducing harms caused by tobacco use.
Want to get involved?
“As the African proverb states: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Interested in learning more about the Tobacco-Free Coalition?
Click here or email Jasmine Simmons at Jasmine.Simmons@MeckNC.Gov.
Also, watch this video: “Black Lives/Black Lungs.” to learn more about the dangers of menthol cigarettes or to find resources about quitting, go here.