Truth Initiative, a non-profit public health organization has announced 2018 Tobacco-Free College Program, offering grants up to $20,000 to minority-serving academic institutions, historically black colleges, women’s colleges and universities and community colleges to adopt a 100 percent tobacco-free college policy.
The grants are part of Be The First, CVS Health’s five-year, $50 million initiative that supports education, tobacco control, and healthy behavior programming with a goal of helping to deliver the nation’s first tobacco-free generation.
Studies have found that low-income and Hispanic students are disproportionately exposed to tobacco outlets near their schools than other neighborhoods while in major cities like Washington D.C., there are up to ten times more tobacco advertisements in black neighborhoods than other neighborhoods.
The non-profit has called upon the women’s colleges in the United States to apply for their grant program.
“While there has been great progress made in reducing smoking in our country, research shows that casual smoking, especially among women, has continued in recent years, and college-aged women are at particular risk for becoming smokers,” Eileen Howard Boone, President of the CVS Health Foundation said in a press release.
“Through our continued partnership with Truth Initiative, we are encouraging the remaining women’s colleges to take the next step in becoming tobacco-free campuses and bring us one step closer to a tobacco-free generation.”
Robin Koval, the CEO and President of Truth Initiative, said: “Our partnership with the CVS Health Foundation has already helped hundreds of thousands of students, faculty and staff at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, community colleges, and minority-serving institutions learn and work in tobacco- and smoke-free environments.”
Applications for the grants are being accepted through September 13, 2018.