Area Tobacco Prevention Group to Meet in Lafayette

For immediate release
Media Contact:
Amy B. Ferguson, Keating Magee
504-299-7175

AREA TOBACCO PREVENTION GROUP TO MEET IN LAFAYETTE

New Orleans, August 2, 2004—The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL) will host its next regional organizing meeting on Monday, August 9, at 12 p.m. at the Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center (103 Independence Blvd, Lafayette.)
TFL, a statewide tobacco prevention initiative that seeks to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco use among Louisianians, encourages all previous participants in the Statewide Summit on Tobacco Prevention to attend. The meeting is also open to community leaders, concerned members of the public, and representatives from area organizations. The meeting is intended to organize efforts in the Lafayette region (OPH Region 4), which includes the following parishes: Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, and Vermillion.
Lunch will be served at the meeting. For more information or to RSVP, those interested should contact Cheryll Sheard, TFLs statewide manager, at 504-301-9817.
The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living provides statewide coordination of existing tobacco control initiatives, funds innovative community programming for tobacco control, and develops statewide media campaigns to help reduce the excessive burden of tobacco use on the states resources and improve Louisianas overall health and quality of life.

Tobacco Fact: Louisiana has the 2nd highest rates of cancer in the nation.
Source: BRFSS (Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System) and Youth Tobacco Survey (YTS)