The Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Commission at the Indiana State Department of Health awarded $200,000 in grant money for community-based tobacco cessation efforts in Bartholomew County.

The grant marks a 10 percent increase from Healthy Communities’ previous grant award. The grant cycle begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2025. This grant will continue the partnership with Foundation for Youth, in which the youth coordinator continues to work with local schools and youth serving agencies to help prevent tobacco use initiation in youth and help decrease youth tobacco use rates, especially with e-cigarettes. The Youth Coordinator also leads the VOICE youth empowerment group to help increase community activism among youth and young adults to support community change especially around youth and young adult tobacco rates.

Other projects enabled by the grant includes work with minority health disparities related to tobacco use and the prevention and reduction of tobacco use by minorities, pregnant women, children, youth and other at-risk populations. The Tobacco Awareness Action Team will also work to increase the proportion of Hoosiers not exposed to secondhand smoke and decrease Indiana adult smoking rates.

The overall mission of the Tobacco Awareness Action Team of Healthy Communities is to reduce the use of tobacco products in Columbus and Bartholomew County through policy, systems and environmental changes.