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Foundation Awards $859,000 to Assess Tobacco Prevalence

Grants Fund Programs to Study Tobacco Use Among Diverse Populations

St. Louis, Mo., Dec 12 -Five Missouri organizations have received a share of $859,833 in grants from Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) to study the prevalence of tobacco use and its effects on diverse groups of Missourians.

The grants specifically focus on tobacco-related issues among the metropolitan St. Louis' Bosnian immigrant community, Vashon Jeff VanderLou neighborhood in the City of St. Louis, individuals with mental illness and/or addiction disorders, women who are pregnant or have small children, and Missouri residents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. These grants are part of MFH's Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Initiative, a nine-year, $40 million effort to reduce tobacco product use in Missouri.

The organizations benefitting from the MFH grants are:

American Lung Association of Missouri, St. Louis, $200,206. The grant funds the organization's assessment of the effects of second-hand smoke exposure and tobacco use among pregnant women and women with small children in metropolitan St. Louis.

Curators of the University of Missouri, Columbia, $127,793. The project assesses smoking prevalence, risk factors and efforts to quit by Missouri's lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender residents. Smoking within this community is 2½ times higher than the general population.

Missouri Department of Mental Health, Jefferson City, $23,250. Funding provides for assessment of tobacco use among individuals with serious mental illnesses and addiction disorders in order to develop a smoking prevention/cessation plan for these consumers.

St. Louis County Department of Health, St. Louis, $386,331. This grant provides funding to assess tobacco use among the Bosnian immigrant community in metropolitan St. Louis, as well as to identify factors that impede smoking cessation.

Vashon Jeff VanderLou Initiative, Inc., St. Louis, $122,253. Funding enables the organization to identify community factors leading to tobacco use and how to promote prevention and cessation in this north St. Louis neighborhood, which is predominantly African-American and has poor health levels.

Established in 2000, MFH is the largest non-governmental funder of community health activities in Missouri. MFH is in its sixth year of grantmaking, having issued more than $265 million in grants and awards to date. It is dedicated to serving the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in 84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis.

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