New grant to Urban Institute's Health Policy
Center marks first funding commitment under organization's renewed
mission to support smoking cessation and public health
worldwide
WASHINGTON, May 13, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Global Action to End Smoking, formerly known
as the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, today announced that it
will fund research by the Urban Institute to study tobacco-use
disorder and nicotine dependence among low-income individuals in
all 50 U.S. states and the District
of Columbia. The work conducted by Urban's Health Policy
Center will further understanding of the challenges of quitting
among the country's marginalized and most vulnerable populations.
Additionally, it will fill a critical equity research gap relating
to the effective delivery of tobacco cessation and treatment and
provide tangible solutions designed to reduce smoking rates and
improve public health.
"We're thrilled to work with the experts at the Urban Institute,
who will carry out the important work of quantifying the magnitude
of the problem of the smoking epidemic among low-income individuals
in the U.S.," said Cliff Douglas,
President of Global Action to End Smoking. "Understanding the
barriers to cessation is the first step to overcoming them. This
work reflects our commitment to end the smoking epidemic worldwide
by helping us better understand how best to empower those at the
greatest risk of suffering illness and premature death from
smoking."
With support from a Global Action grant, Urban's health
researchers will analyze data from state Medicaid programs on
treatments for tobacco-use disorder from 2019 to 2026. This
research will allow the experts to estimate the prevalence of
smoking and vaping rates among people with low incomes and examine
the potential impact of the 2023 and 2024 Medicaid disenrollment on
people who smoke. The findings of this work will identify and
provide recommendations for the health community, policymakers, and
everyday consumers of tobacco products. Urban is a leading
nonprofit research organization that provides data and evidence to
help advance upward mobility and equity.
"Our research will offer key insights into Medicaid prescribing
trends for tobacco use disorder and nicotine dependence
treatments," said Urban Institute senior research fellow
Lisa Clemans-Cope. "This work will
inform efforts to enhance health outcomes and minimize disparities
for the leading cause of preventable death and disease."
The Urban Institute grant falls under Global Action's newly
established Cessation Education program. In addition to continuing
to fund research under its Health and Science Research focus area,
grants within the Cessation Education program will focus on
unearthing challenges to quitting and on better educating
consumers, health-care providers, and key public-health
stakeholders on the ways people who smoke can improve their health
by quitting and moving down the continuum of risk. The work funded
in this space focuses on marginalized communities and low- and
middle-income countries, where 80% of the world's tobacco users
live.
The Cessation Education initiative is an expansion of Global
Action's existing grant program area that raises awareness of the
many cessation strategies and tools available to people who smoke.
In addition to the new program, the revamped Global Action website
(www.globalactiontoendsmoking.org) will provide the public with the
latest evidence-based information on smoking cessation and risk
minimization as a living resource for consumers and health care
providers.
"Global Action is energized by our work across the world, from
the United Kingdom to Pakistan and the
Philippines, because smoking is a truly global epidemic.
With the new grant to Urban Institute, we are elevating the work of
an institution that will focus on empathy, understanding, and
solutions for people who smoke, rather than the judgment and shame
they too often face," continued Douglas.
Global Action to End Smoking is the relaunch of the Foundation
for a Smoke-Free World. The charitable organization's rebrand
reflects a new approach to achieving its mission to end the smoking
epidemic. While Global Action's grantmaking will continue to focus
on advancing health and science research for robust smoking
cessation and reduced-risk solutions, it will also disseminate
research findings and information to support people who smoke
through its new Cessation Education program. Additionally, Global
Action's Agricultural Transformation Initiative will continue to
assist smallholder farmers in moving away from dependence on
tobacco growing to achieving more healthful and sustainable
livelihoods in Malawi.
You can learn more about the relaunch by watching the following
video: https://youtu.be/SLYFDpP0aIA.
Through September 2023, the
organization received charitable gifts from PMI Global
Services, Inc ("PMI") while operating as an entirely independent
entity. In October 2023, the
organization ended its prior funding agreement with PMI. Global
Action has since adopted a formal policy that it will not seek or
accept funding from any industry that manufactures tobacco products
or non-medicinal nicotine products.
For more information, please visit
http://globalactiontoendsmoking.org/.
About Global Action to End Smoking
Global Action to
End Smoking is an independent, U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) grantmaking
organization accelerating science-based efforts worldwide to end
the smoking epidemic. Its mission is to end combustible tobacco
use, which remains the leading preventable cause of death
worldwide. The organization collaborates with academic and research
centers and others to accelerate life-saving research and
educational projects. Global Action does not seek or accept funding
from companies that produce tobacco products or non-medicinal
nicotine products.
For media inquiries, please contact Katherine Foley:
202-215-9971; Katherine.Foley@actiontoendsmoking.org
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-action-to-end-smoking-formerly-foundation-for-a-smoke-free-world-awards-grant-to-urban-institute-to-address-quitting-barriers-and-solutions-in-marginalized-communities-302143154.html
SOURCE Global Action to End Smoking