Melrose Youth Seleted to Receive Grant to Fight Big Tobacco

Melrose, MA, Nov. 3, 2014 – The Youth Action Team of the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition in Melrose has been awarded a $1,500 grant from The 84 Movement to work on an initiative to educate the community about the dangers of tobacco and reduce the influence of Big Tobacco in their neighborhoods.

The Youth Action Team is part of The 84 Movement which helps mobilize youth to take action to protect their communities from the influence of the tobacco industry. The grant is one of fourteen awarded to youth groups from across the Commonwealth who are committed to fighting Big Tobacco in their neighborhoods and schools.

“Smoking is the number one preventable cause of disease and death in Massachusetts and in the world today, and we want our young people to realize that they have the power and the creativity to help prevent a new generation of people from becoming addicted to tobacco,” said Lauren Dustin, assistant coalition coordinator and youth coordinator.

The 84 is a program of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, developed and managed in partnership with Health Resources in Action. For more information on the work being done to combat Big Tobacco around the State visit www.makesmokinghistory.org and www.The84.org.

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Northeast Tobacco Free Community Partnership is a program of the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center with funding by the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention program. The Northeast Tobacco-Free Community Partnership supports community efforts to lower smoking prevalence and exposure to secondhand smoke; enhance state and local tobacco control efforts by exposing tobacco industry tactics, mobilizing the community to support and adopt evidence-based policies, and changing social norms. The community partnership serves as a resource for local coalitions, health and human service agencies, municipalities, and workplaces on tobacco intervention efforts.