The National Latino Tobacco Control Network (NLTCN)

Populations Served:

Hispanic/Latinos in the US, the US-Mexico border region and Puerto Rico

Description:

NLTCN is an open information and support system that promotes information exchange, collaboration, and personal and institutional linkages among tobacco control and health disparities advocates and experts who want to become more effective in changing policies and social norms around tobacco control. We help advocates do their work by linking state health departments, mainstream tobacco control organizations, and communities to network members whom can provide technical assistance and culturally and linguistically appropriate training services. We are open to all of those who are interested in achieving health equity for Latinos and all communities of color, LGBT and those with limited economic resources. The Network manages a National Director of approximately 500 Latinos working on tobacco, alcohol, and other drug and health disparities issues that is updated each month and allows users to conduct searches of colleagues by state and expertise. We also publish monthly newsletters with information about upcoming events, training opportunities and recent reports and publications about promising and best practices in tobacco control, and run a Listbox service that distributes announcements and time-sensitive information. Currently, over 3,300 people receive our newsletters and Listbox bulletins. Our website has links to repositories of tobacco control materials, curricula and reports to help advocates do their work, including three (3) "Promising Practices" recently publishted by NLTCN to highlight innovative tobacco control efforts targeting Latino communities.

NLTCN has a cooperative agreement with the Office of Smoking and Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and also receives financial support from the American Legacy Foundation.  In-kind support is provided by and all of its Management, Steering and Advisory Committee member organizations as well as the National Cancer Institute at NIH.

Mission:

To build leadership and inform, support and energize a national network of tobacco control experts and activists to work with Latino communities, states and coalitions to address the health burdens created by tobacco consumption by promoting policies and programs to prevent youth initiation, increase quit rates and assure smoke-free environments.

 Priority Initiatives:

• Recruit Network participants, increase participation of current members in decision making and ownership, search input to build membership of researchers and non-tobacco focused constituents.

• Update communications system and website, maintain a vibrant calendar of events, increase press coverage of tobacco issues, and participate in raising awareness of Latino issues.

• Participate in National Network Consortium Activities and develop partnerships and opportunities for collaboration with Partners and CDC in support of policy initiatives.

• Develop capacity building and tailored training, including technical assistance for different audiences nationwide.

• Gather existing examples of promising and best practices in tobacco control for Latinos and share this information with collaborators, Office on Smoking and Health at CDC, states and other national tobacco control partners. In the summer of 2010, NLTCN published the following "Promising Practices":

  • "Smoke-Free Latino Businesses in Indiana: From Outreach to Engagement in Policy Change"

  • "Smoke-Free Latino Soccer Leagues: Reaching Far Beyond the Target Audience and Creating Policy Change"

  • "Mobilizing Faith Communities in Support of Tobacco Control Policies: Creating of the Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition"

• Manage and maintain a current and active list of training consultants who have expertise in various areas of tobacco control. Each month, through our newsletter, NLTCN highlights a new leader making a difference in the field.

• Support the operational and administrative functions of NLTCN to maintain and strengthen network.

• Promote the use of culturally competent materials, cessation and the state or CDC-funded Quitlines.

• Promote policies that will reduce the exposure to secondhand smoke at the local, state, and federal levels, including comprehensive clean indoor air policies. We are currently working in Indiana, Texas, Minnesota, California, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Puerto Rico.

• Support efforts to increase tobacco taxes in order to increase prices to reduce youth initiation and promote quitting, as well as funding to strengthen local efforts.

• Participate in the identification of gaps in methodologies and needed resources at local and state levels.

• Publish, distribute and make available through the website fact sheets, reports and materials on tobacco consumption and its impact on Latino communities.

• Promote private policies in support of smoke-free housing, cars, parks, casinos, bowling alleys and other establishments typically not protected by clean indoor air ordinances.

• Increase capacity at the local level to address tobacco issues through leadership, advocacy, and training.

• Submit testimony to the Center for Tobacco Products at the FDA on regulations that involve mentholated products, little cigars and cigarillos, and other new products impacting communities.
   

For More Information:

Please contact:
National Latino Tobacco Control Network

Jeannette Noltenius, MA, PhD
National Director
1869 Park Road, NW
Washington, DC 20010
Phone: (202) 328-1313
Fax: (202) 797-9856
Email: jnoltenius@sswdc.com
Website: www.latinotobaccocontrol.org

and/or

Adrian Althoff
National Network Communications Manager
1869 Park Road, NW
Washington, DC 20010
Phone: (202) 328-1313
Fax: (202) 797-9856
Cell: (408) 449-6491
Email: aalthoff@indianalatino.com
Website: www.latinotobaccocontrol.org

Additional Pages:

• Resources
• Accomplishments
• Affiliate Organizations