The Asian American Civic Association (AACA) is developing an evidence-informed, anti-smoking mass media campaign by compiling, customizing and translating existing graphic and compelling tobacco- and nicotine-related content adapted from effective past national mass media campaigns. New content is being created to cater to Boston’s Chinatown community more specifically. AACA leverages its property manager, local business owner and community organization networks to promote smoke-free areas throughout Chinatown.
Boston Asian: Youth Essential Service (BAYES) engages youth through a variety of activities about the risks of using tobacco and nicotine, its negative impacts on physical and mental health, marketing strategies used by the tobacco industry and tips to live free of tobacco- and nicotine. Youth develop and implement a public health education campaign about the dangers of tobacco and nicotine that reaches hundreds of community members annually. They also identify, create and publish new tobacco- and nicotine-related content that resonates with Asian American youth.
The Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC), through its Smoke-Free Chinatown Initiative, aims to mitigate the negative impacts of tobacco use and smoking among Chinese families in Chinatown and Boston. BCNC engages children, youth, parents and other adults in tobacco education through arts programs, parenting classes and other workshop presentations. BCNC disseminates information through newsletters and other methods to build community awareness of the health hazards of smoking and tobacco products, secondhand smoke and resources for smoking cessation. BCNC’s Family Services team also provides individualized case management and counseling to current smokers to support their cessation journey.
The Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center (GBCGAC), through its Smoke-Free for Healthy Living program, promotes the prevention and cessation of tobacco and nicotine use among Chinese adults. The program empowers smokers via outreach events and educational workshops to lead healthier lives by reducing and stopping smoking. GBCGAC also assesses smokers’ health and behavioral needs, creates individualized smoking cessation/reduction plans and provides one-on-one support with family engagement and regular follow-up to support the quitting process. Smoke-Free for Healthy Living engages public and private housing developments to promote the program, recruit participants and help maintain a smoke-free environment for all residents.
Josiah Quincy Elementary School (JQS) provides a comprehensive tobacco prevention curriculum to all fourth and fifth graders, helping students learn about the health and economic impacts of smoking and vaping, including secondhand smoke, as well as techniques to protect themselves and their families from these impacts. JQS has partnered with the Josiah Quincy Upper School to deliver a similar curriculum to sixth and seventh graders, equipping them with knowledge and skills at a time when they may begin to experience peer pressure to try smoking or vaping. JQS is exploring innovative methods of engaging families to support students’ abstention from tobacco, and JQS will work with co-located service providers to promote a fully smoke-free environment on the school’s community campus.
