APPEAL’s Pathways of Change Conference Opens Registration

Pathways of Change: Advancing Equity on Tobacco, Obesity & Cancer Control is a 2.5-day conference that celebrates APPEAL’s 20th anniversary by examining the health disparities faced by Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and other underserved communities and how to create meaningful change.  Early-bird rates are available until July 25.  Special discounted hotel room rates are also available.  For scholarship and other conference information, or to register, visit the Pathways of Change page.

Show the Impact of Tobacco on Diverse Communities!

Join APPEAL’s Efforts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Tobacco Education Campaign

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the second round of their tobacco education campaign last week, Tips from Former Smokers (Tips). The campaign aims to continue raising awareness of the negative health effects caused by smoking, encourage smokers to quit, and encourage nonsmokers to protect themselves and their families from exposure to secondhand smoke through advertisements, public service announcments, and social media outreach. With a national spotlight on tobacco education, now is a critical time for APPEAL and our network members to help in delivering key information and resources to our Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the second round of their tobacco education campaign last week, Tips from Former Smokers (Tips). The campaign aims to continue raising awareness of the negative health effects caused by smoking, encourage smokers to quit, and encourage nonsmokers to protect themselves and their families from exposure to secondhand smoke through advertisements, public service announcments, and social media outreach. With a national spotlight on tobacco education, now is a critical time for APPEAL and our network members to help in delivering key information and resources to our Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.

Building on the success of last year’s campaign, the CDC is incorporating new ads highlighting stories of individuals from diverse communities including: African American, Latino, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT), and Native American/Alaska Native communities. Additionally, CDC is making a special effort to reach out to Asian American smokers by placing ads that include a “tip” to encourage smokers to call the Asian Smokers’ Quitline in various Asian-language newspapers across the country.

To support these national tobacco education efforts, APPEAL encourages network members to help spread these critical messages to our communities and encourage them to get involved.

Here’s what you can do to help:

  • Share campaign materials with your clients, patients, or community members: Post the Tips videos and other relevant Tips information on your website or social media channels. Visit the Tips website.
  • Raise our communities’ voices in the fight against tobacco: Encourage community members to share personal stories on how tobacco has changed their life on the National Networks website.

    • Promote culturally appropriate resources for quitting tobacco: The Asian Smokers’ Quitline provides free in-language services to those who speak Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese.

    With the help of network members, APPEAL hopes to shed further light on how tobacco is impacting Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. If you need assistance with your efforts, please contact us at [email protected].

APPEAL Applauds CVS Caremark for Historic Decision to Halt Sales of Tobacco Products APPEAL Applauds CVS Caremark for Historic Decision to Halt Sales of Tobacco Products

Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) commended CVS Caremark on Wednesday for prioritizing public health with its decision to remove all tobacco products from its 7,600 stores by Oct. 1.
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First Journal Issue Dedicated to AA & NHPI Tobacco Use Released in a Decade

APPEAL guest edits peer reviewed articles on eliminating tobacco disparities among AAs & NHPIs

Oakland, C.A. – Today, Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) and Health Promotion Practice(HPP) released the second ever (and first in over a decade) issue of a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to tobacco use in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) communities.

PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

Contact:
George C. Wu
(202) 306-0898
[email protected]

Rod Lew
Executive Director, APPEAL
(510) 318-7814
[email protected]

August 15, 2013

First Journal Issue Dedicated to AA & NHPI Tobacco Use Released in a Decade

Oakland, C.A. – Today, Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) and Health Promotion Practice (HPP) released the second ever (and first in over a decade) issue of a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to tobacco use in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) communities.

“APPEAL is pleased to be involved in both historic efforts to highlight the damage tobacco use has on our communities and the solutions that have been tested and proven successful,’’ said APPEAL Executive Director Rod Lew, who was a guest editor for the issue. “Tobacco use amongst AAs & NHPIs continues to remain high, and community members then suffer health consequences. That is why this issue of Health Promotion Practice is so important, and why we need to work together to advocate for the health of our communities.”

Promising Practices to Eliminate Tobacco Disparities Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Communities focuses on how these promising practices can lead to a tobacco free community norm and policy change. Tobacco use continues to be the single most preventable cause of death for all groups in the United States, including AAs & NHPIs. Men’s smoking rates among Pacific Islanders (35.7%) and Vietnamese (30.7%) are almost double those of all men in California, according to the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). Rates are also high among Korean (21.5%) and Filipino men (18.7%).

At the release, former smoker Rico Foz talked about his struggle with tobacco use: “It took cancer to make me give up smoking. I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and had surgery to remove the cancer, but because I was uninsured at the time, we had to use our family’s savings to pay for medical bills. I had a difficult recovery–barely able to walk or move–so my wife, a nurse, had to quit her job to care for me. Luckily, I recovered.”

Promising Practices to Eliminate Tobacco Disparities Among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Communities will be available open access to the general public on September 1, 2013. Media can obtain an advance by contacting Elaine Colwell, [email protected]. For more information about APPEAL’s strategies for tobacco control and eliminating tobacco-related disparities for AAs & NHPIs, please visit www.appealforcommunities.org.

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Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) is a national organization working towards social justice and a tobacco-free Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) community. To learn more about APPEAL, please visit www.appealforcommunities.org.

Health Promotion Practice (HPP), an official journal of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), publishes authoritative articles devoted to the practical application of health promotion and education. The journal provides information of strategic importance to a broad base of professionals engaged in the practice of developing, implementing, and evaluating health promotion and disease prevention programs.

300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 620 / Oakland, CA 94612 / P 510.272.9536 F 510.272.0817 / site by tumis.com

AAPCHO and APPEAL Urges AA & NHPI Smokers to Speak with their Physicians

OAKLAND, May 23, 2013 – The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), in partnership with Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), is encouraging Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (AA&NHOPI) tobacco users to speak with their physicians about smoking and quitting.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2013

Contact:
Stacy Lavilla
Director of Communications, AAPCHO
(510) 272-9536 x110
[email protected]

Rod Lew
Executive Director, APPEAL
(510) 318-7814
[email protected]

AAPCHO and APPEAL Urges AA&NHOPI Smokers to Speak with their Physicians

OAKLAND, May 23, 2013 – The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), in partnership with Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), is encouraging Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (AA&NHOPI) tobacco users to speak with their physicians about smoking and quitting.

AAPCHO and APPEAL, in support of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “Talk with Your Doctor” campaign, is asking physicians and patients, to engage in dialogue about smoking cessation. Yesterday, CDC unveiled its campaign, which recognizes the critical role health care providers can play in helping their patients quit.

“Smoking continues to be a serious problem in our communities,” said Jeffery Caballero, executive director of AAPCHO, “We need to continue to let people know, especially those who fall under the radar of mainstream programs, of the health risks involved with smoking, as well as the availability of resources and services to help people quit.”

AAPCHO, a national non-profit association of community health centers primarily serving medically underserved AA&NHOPIs, is also promoting the Asian Quitline, which offers interpretive services in Korean, Chinese, and Vietnamese. AAPCHO is asking physicians to refer smokers to the hotline, which is offering two weeks of free nicotine patches to callers.

“It is important to get trusted health care providers actively involved and encourage smokers to quit,” said Rod Lew, executive director of APPEAL. “And it is important that our communities, for which many are limited English proficient, get access to the in-language resources and assistance they need. We feel that the ‘Talk to Your Doctor Campaign,’ and the Asian Quitline helps us take steps toward that goal.”

National studies show extremely high smoking prevalence rates in Vietnamese and Korean American men – around one in three are smokers. Limited data on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islander populations suggest that children begin smoking at a very early age, and that smoking prevalence is very high among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander men and women.

About AAPCHO
AAPCHO is a national association of 33 community health organizations dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration, and leadership that improves the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islanders in the U.S. For more information on AAPCHO please visit www.aapcho.org.

About APPEAL
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), founded in 1994, is a national organization working towards social justice and a tobacco-free Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community. To learn more about APPEAL, please visit www.appealforcommunities.org

PROMISE Network Webinar Highlights Strategies for Promoting Smoke-free Multiunit Housing Policies in Diverse Communities

To share strategies that community-based organizations have used to engage diverse communities in tobacco control, on March 21, 2013 the APPEAL PROMISE Network hosted a webinar on promoting smoke-free multiunit housing policies with guest speakers Christine Araquel from the People’s Community Organization for Reform and Empowerment (People’s CORE) in Los Angeles, California and Ekta Prakash from CAPI USA in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

To share strategies that community-based organizations have used to engage diverse communities in tobacco control, on March 21, 2013 the APPEAL PROMISE Network hosted a webinar on promoting smoke-free multiunit housing policies with guest speakers Christine Araquel from the People’s Community Organization for Reform and Empowerment (People’s CORE) in Los Angeles, California and Ekta Prakash from CAPI USA in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Araquel described People’s CORE’s Smoke-Free Apartments Project, which engaged residents in Asian American and Pacific Islander neighborhoods in Central Los Angeles in support of voluntary smoke-free policies in outdoor common areas at their apartment complexes. Ms. Prakash presented on CAPI’s Healthy Homes, Healthy Communities program and its work towards smoke-free policies in Minneapolis public housing, which has diverse residents including African and Asian immigrants and refugees.

Both speakers emphasized that a key step in working with diverse communities was extensive outreach at specific community-specific cultural events and settings, and listening to community concerns. Both People’s CORE and CAPI also included language access as an important part of their work with diverse communities; having staff who could speak Tagalog, Somali, and other appropriate languages and having in-language educational materials – were critical to each projects’ success.

If you were unable to attend the webinar and would like to learn more, the presentation slides are available on the APPEAL website at www.appealforcommunities.org/presentations.

APPEAL Challenges Youth to Promote Health with Video Contest and Activity Challenge

In late February, APPEAL launched “Health Starts…Where We Live, Learn, Work, and Play,” a video contest and activity challenge for youth and young adults. The contest and activity challenge is part of our national effort to promote tobacco-free living, healthy eating, and active living (HEAL) in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities.

In late February, APPEAL launched “Health Starts…Where We Live, Learn, Work, and Play,” a video contest and activity challenge for youth and young adults. The contest and activity challenge is part of our national effort to promote tobacco-free living, healthy eating, and active living (HEAL) in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities.

APPEAL invites all youth (13-17 years old) and young adults (18-24 years old) in the United States and the United States Associated Pacific Islands to submit original, imaginative and creative videos that inspire awareness on how availability of tobacco products, poor access to healthy foods and safe spaces for physical activity affect the ease of making healthy choices for AA and NHPI communities. APPEAL also challenges all youths and adults to make 2013 a year of action by pledging to raise awareness of these issues and organize activities to make changes in their schools, neighborhoods, and communities throughout the year.

“We hope the video contest provides a vehicle for youth to foster their storytelling skills in a medium that majority of their generation relate to in very powerful ways,” stated APPEAL Program Director and Interim Program Manager Rachel Matillano. “We encourage youth to become engaged civic participants and proactive agents of change within their communities who can imagine and pursue their own vision of a positive future.”

The deadline for submissions to the video contest goes through April 30, 2013 and winners will be announced on May 17, 2013. Two $250 cash prizes will be awarded – one to the best entry by a youth (13-17 years old), and the other to the best entry by a young adult (18-24 years old). Entries must follow the official rules which can be accessed by visiting this web link: www.appealforcommunities.org/videocontesthealthstarts.

APPEAL Welcomes New Staff to the Team

APPEAL is pleased to welcome new staff to the team.

APPEAL is pleased to welcome new staff to the team. Lisa Fu is returning to APPEAL as Research Manager for our upcoming community-based participatory research project. Nina Kahori Fallenbaum joins APPEAL as Communications Manager, and will focus on Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) and developing related policy initiatives. APPEAL also welcomes Mey S. Saephan to the team as an intern. We are excited by the energy and expertise that our new staff members will contribute to the team.

CDC Continues National Tobacco Education Campaign with a Special Effort to Target Asian American Smokers

Oakland, CA – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is making a special effort to reach out to Asian American smokers as part of their “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign. The CDC will place ads that include a “tip” to encourage smokers to call the Asian Smokers’ Quitline in various Asian-language newspapers across the country. The Asian Smokers’ Quitline is a free nationwide program offering a variety of services: self-help materials, a referral list of other cessation programs, one-on-one counseling over the phone, and a free two-week starter kit of nicotine patches. In-language services are available to those who speak Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese languages.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2013

Contact: Rod Lew
(510) 318-7814
[email protected]

CDC Continues National Tobacco Education Campaign with a
Special Effort to Target Asian American Smokers

Oakland, CA – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is making a special effort to reach out to Asian American smokers as part of their “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign. The CDC will place ads that include a “tip” to encourage smokers to call the Asian Smokers’ Quitline in various Asian-language newspapers across the country. The Asian Smokers’ Quitline is a free nationwide program offering a variety of services: self-help materials, a referral list of other cessation programs, one-on-one counseling over the phone, and a free two-week starter kit of nicotine patches. In-language services are available to those who speak Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese languages.

Continuing with the success of last year’s national tobacco education campaign, the second series of advertisements in the “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign will feature real people who are living with the effects of smoking-related diseases. The newest ads in the campaign tell the story of how real people’s lives were changed forever due to their smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke. The ads will air starting today until June 23 and they highlight stories of individuals from the African American, Latino, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT), and Native American/Alaska Native communities.

“We applaud the efforts of the CDC to target priority populations including the Asian American community. We know the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) community suffers disproportionately from tobacco and we appreciate how the CDC is dedicating resources to addressing tobacco disparities. We hope future efforts are expanded to include Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and other Asian subgroups,” said Rod Lew, executive director of APPEAL.

Research shows that Asian Americans are impacted by tobacco at higher rates. Two national studies, the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), show that the prevalence of smoking is extremely high among Vietnamese American and Korean American men – around 1 in 3 are smokers. While there is limited data collected on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, some of the data suggests that Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children start smoking at a very early age and that the prevalence of smoking among both men and women in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities is also very high.

Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL), founded in 1994, is a national organization working towards social justice and a tobacco-free Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community. APPEAL’s mission is to champion social justice and achieve parity and empowerment for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders by supporting and mobilizing community-led movements through advocacy and leadership development on critical public health issues. To learn more about APPEAL, please visit: www.appealforcommunities.org. For more information on Asian Smokers’ Helpline, visit their website at: www.asiansmokersquitline.org and for details on the “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign, please visit: www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/

New “Gangnam” Cigarette Brand Markets a Deadly Product to Consumers, Youth

OAKLAND, CA – Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) calls upon Canadian Tobacco and Global, Inc. (CT&G) to end its marketing of a new brand of cigarettes, named “Gangnam” after the upscale district in South Korea, which benefits from the popularity of the similarly-named song by famous South Korean rapper Psy.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2013

Contact:
Rod Lew, Executive Director, APPEAL
(510) 318-7814
[email protected]
www.appealforcommunities.org

NEW “GANGNAM” CIGARETTE BRAND MARKETS A DEADLY PRODUCT TO CONSUMERS, YOUTH

OAKLAND, CA – Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) calls upon Canadian Tobacco and Global, Inc. (CT&G) to end its marketing of a new brand of cigarettes, named “Gangnam” after the upscale district in South Korea, which benefits from the popularity of the similarly-named song by famous South Korean rapper Psy. “This is a blatant act of marketing to youth, particularly those of Asian descent, and to consumers across the globe,” said Rod Lew, executive director of APPEAL. “Using ‘Gangnam’ as a brand name benefits from the widespread popularity of Psy’s hit song and sidesteps Canada’s strict rules for tobacco marketing.” Canada prohibits tobacco sponsorship, restricts and regulates advertising, and requires graphic warning labels about the negative effects of smoking to appear on cigarette packs.

Highly visible industry marketing campaigns using culturally-renowned celebrities and symbols have been part of the tobacco industry’s larger strategy to appeal to youth and young adults and recruit new smokers from diverse communities. Rates of smoking in South Korea and among those of Korean ancestry in the U.S. – especially young adults aged 18-24 – are extremely high, and are a cause for major concern due to the link between smoking and cancer, strokes, and heart disease. Targeting vulnerable communities already burdened with high rates of tobacco-related disease with this new product is just another instance of established tobacco industry tactics.

APPEAL is a national organization working towards social justice and a tobacco-free Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community. APPEAL encourages smokers and families of Asian smokers in the U.S. to call the nationwide Asian Smokers’ Quitline. The Quitline offers a choice of free services in Asian languages including Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, including one-on-one telephone counseling to quit smoking, self-help materials, referrals to local programs, and a two-week starter kit of nicotine patches.

To reach the Asian Smokers’ Quitline, call:
Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin): 1-800-838-8917
Korean: 1-800-556-5564
Vietnamese: 1-800-778-8440

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