Tobacco fund Fourteen programs statewide have received a total of $650,000 to reduce and prevent tobacco use among young people and high-risk adults.
awards 14 grants
Money will be used
to build programs for
curbing tobacco useStar-Bulletin staff
Gov. Ben Cayetano awarded the grants yesterday from the Hawaii Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund.
In a ceremony at the state Capitol, Cayetano said Hawaii is one of few states nationally to designate a significant portion of its tobacco settlement money for public health programs.
"These groups will receive the support needed to discourage tobacco use in the islands and to teach Hawaii residents how to lead healthy, smoke-free lives," he said.
State Health Director Bruce Anderson pointed out that 16 percent of Hawaii's deaths annually are due to tobacco use.
He said the grants are part of the Health Department's plan to use the trust money to promote healthier lifestyles.
Hawaii won a $1.3 billion settlement spread over 25 years after joining 45 other states in a 1998 lawsuit against tobacco companies. The settlement was to resolve state claims for costs in caring for sick smokers.
The trust fund was established through 1999 legislation allocating 60 percent of scheduled payments from the master settlement agreement to public health efforts.
The fund receives 25 percent of the settlement agreement; the Department of Health gets 35 percent for the Children's Health Insurance Program and other health-related activities; and 40 percent goes into a "rainy day" emergency and budget reserve fund.
The Health Department and an 11-member Trust Fund Advisory Board developed a strategic anti-tobacco plan after a series of statewide meetings to gather public input.
Former state Attorney General Margery Bronster, who heads the advisory board, said, "The feedback from the people of Hawaii was a critical factor in the development of a useful and effective tobacco use prevention plan."
She said the beliefs and ideas in the communities on how to deal with the problems of tobacco use are reflected in the grant awards.
The grants focused on these areas in the strategic plan: expanding tobacco prevention and control projects, funding innovative activities, ensuring greater access to cessation programs, increasing youth participation in tobacco prevention and control, and use of locally based media messages to prevent and control tobacco use.
The Hawaii Community Foundation handles administrative, investment and grant services for the trust fund, an endowment fund.
Requests for grants were reviewed based on certain criteria and sought balance in geographic location, target population, age and type of organization.
Recipients and their projects include:
>> American Lung Association of Hawaii, Freedom from Smoking -- Two Effective Statewide Cessation Programs for Groups and Individual Adults.
>> Castle Medical Center, Break Free Hawaii -- Expanding Effective Cessation Programs for Adults.
>> Kauai Rural Health Association, Malama Kauai Smoking Cessation for Pregnant Women and Their Families.
>> Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services, Smoking Cessation Program for Pregnant Women and New Mothers.
>> University of Hawaii Cancer Research Center, Project SPLASH: Statewide Tobacco Prevention for Seventh and Eighth Graders.
>> Waianae District Comprehensive Health & Hospital Board Inc., Teen BEAT -- Prevention and Cessation Targeted to Teens.
>> Friends for Fitness, West Hawaii Collaborative Training Program for Doctors and Dentists on Smoking Cessation and Referral.
>> Kalihi-Palama Health Center, Smoking Cessation Program for Pregnant Women and Young Parents.
>> The Queen's Medical Center, the Quit Tobacco Program.
>> UH John A. Burns School of Medicine, Training Medical Residents on How to Address Smoking Cessation with Their Patients.
>> Friends of the Future, an Anti-Tobacco Learning Center on Wheels.
>> Gay and Lesbian Community Center, a Comprehensive Program to Reduce Tobacco Use in the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Population.
>> Maui Youth and Family Services, Anti-Tobacco Youth Leadership and Empowerment Program on Maui, Lanai and Molokai.
>> Waipahu High School, the Marauder Challenge.
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