Health Disparities

Several population groups are disproportionately affected by tobacco use and its negative health effects. There is often a higher prevalence of tobacco use in ethnic minority communities, lower socioeconomic groups and among the LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Intersex) population. The tobacco industry spends millions of dollars each year to target these groups with their deadly products. As a result, MOTAC addresses health disparities throughout its work in Douglas County.

Latinas Tabaco y Cáncer (LTC) is an educational group for Latina women that focuses on tobacco and cancer related issues. Founded in 2006, the group meets every other month to learn about tobacco health related issues, and plan educational and advocacy projects within families, schools, and communities. The group also plans and participates in several projects including World No Tobacco Day Tobacco Exchange Car Wash, Healthy Traditional Recipes Book, Educational Presentations, and the Smoke-Free Nebraska Quilt.

The group is proud of their involvement with MOTAC projects and were strong tobacco-free advocates for the Nebraska Smoke-Free Air Law that went into effect on June 1, 2009.
Future projects for the group, include:

• Hosting computer classes to highlight using the computer to conduct tobacco-related research.
• Developing a LTC Facebook page to educate on tobacco related issues and maintain the support system developed within the group.
• Creating a "Fotonovela" to educate Latinos on the benefits of maintaining a smoke-free home.

For upcoming LTC meetings contact Antonia Correa at
(402)559-3670 or by email at acorrea@unmc.edu.

Not in Mama's Kitchen

Each year, more than 367,000 African American children suffer from respiratory diseases due to secondhand smoke. Not In Mama's Kitchen (NIMK) is a smoke-free homes initiative dedicated to improving the health and welfare of families by increasing the number of African American children that live in a smoke-free home.

NIMK's goal is to educate and empower women, especially mothers, to protect their families from the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure. Presentations and workshops are tailored to the needs of the audience. Upon completion, women have a plan of action developed and are presented with a smoke-free home certificate to display in their home. Since 2006, over 350 African American women in Douglas County have taken the pledge. That correlates to over 1,200 children protected from the dangers of tobacco and the exposure to secondhand smoke.

For more information on presentations, workshops, or the smoke-free home pledge, call Vickie Young, Prevention Specialist at New Creations, Inc., at (402) 934-6677 or
(402)990-3111.

© Copyright 2010 Metro Omaha Tobacco Action Coalition.

LGBTQI Community and Tobacco

• LGBT are almost 35 to almost 200% more likely to smoke than non-LGBT.
• In the largest and most scientific study to date, LGBT people smoke at rates almost 50% to 200% higher than the rest of the population.
• Over 30,000 LGBT people die each year of tobacco-related diseases.

Source: National LGBT Tobacco Control Network, 2008

Adult Smoking Rates by Income

Data from the 2007 Nebraska Behavioral Risk Factor Survelliance Survey suggests that lower income levels are generally related to higher rates of smoking. Nebraskans with an income of less than $35,000 were more likely to have a higher smoking rate than the state average adult smoking rate 19.9%. In fact Nebraskans with incomes of less than $15,000 had the highest smoking rates at 32.6% among all income groups in 2007.