American Legacy Foundation Targets Smoking Cessation Program Toward Baltimore, Black Community
Officials from the American Legacy Foundation announced Monday that Baltimore is one of four cities that will participate in its smoking cessation advertisement campaign in part because of the city's high number of smokers, particularly in the black community, the Baltimore Sun reports. According to CDC, more than one in five adults in Baltimore smokes and 24% of blacks smoke statewide, compared with 20% of Hispanics and 17% of non-Hispanic white residents. The television and radio ad campaign is called "EX" and will run through June. It directs smokers to a toll-free hotline -- 800-QUIT-NOW -- that is monitored by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and offers guidance and information about local smoking cessation programs (Stroh, Baltimore Sun, 1/23). The program, which was designed in part by experts from the Mayo Clinic, will offer customized smoking cessation plans online at BecomeAnEx.org and the EX Quit Manual, a detailed guide on how to address nicotine addiction (ALF Web site). The foundation also is testing the program in Buffalo, N.Y.; San Antonio, Texas; and Grand Rapids, Mich. If successful, AFL officials say they will expand the program nationwide (Baltimore Sun, 1/23).