*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 1991.10.04 : Project Assist -- Smoking Control Contact: Susan Jenks (301) 496-6641 Joann Schellenbach American Cancer Society (212) 382-2169 October 4, 1991 Saving 1.2 million Americans from early smoking-related deaths is the goal of the largest-ever national tobacco control program launched today by HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D. Secretary Sullivan announced that state health departments in 17 states will receive contracts totaling more than $7 million in their first year to participate in ASSIST, a joint seven-year project of the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. The 17 states are: Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. ASSIST stands for the American Stop Smoking Intervention Study for cancer prevention. "What sets ASSIST apart from other government antismoking programs is its emphasis on the development of community-based coalitions throughout entire states," said Dr. Sullivan. "Ultimately, it will be our communities and individual Americans that decide how best to tackle their tobacco problems. ASSIST will empower them by providing the information and help that they need to change attitudes about smoking and counter the sinister marketing strategies of the tobacco industry." The National Cancer Institute will spend $135 million over seven years to fund ASSIST. About $115 million will be used by state health departments to support community-based tobacco control programs, which will be developed and run by state and local coalitions. The programs will focus on increasing public information about tobacco and health issues and adopting private and public policies that will reinforce nonsmoking throughout the community. Another $20 million will be used for national coordination and evaluation of ASSIST. The American Cancer Society will support ASSIST with $25 to $30 million in program funds, large quantities of education materials, and the efforts of thousands of volunteers. ACS has a strong national tobacco control program and an active network of more than 800,000 volunteers and 1,000 local units in the 17 ASSIST states. ACS president-elect Walter Lawrence Jr., M.D., said, "The ASSIST program is an ideal marriage between federal research programs and community organizations. It uses findings of NCI smoking control research programs and delivers them to the community through local health and human service agencies." ASSIST will reach about 91 million people including nearly 18 million smokers. The project's goal is to help about 4.5 million adult smokers to stop and to prevent another 2 million young people from becoming addicted. Peter Greenwald, M.D., Dr.P.H., director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Cancer Institute, said ASSIST is the culmination of a decade-long research commitment by NCI to find the best ways to help people avoid smoking. "From more than 60 large intervention studies, we have learned which strategies and approaches are most effective in controlling tobacco use. It's time to apply these techniques as broadly as possible to prevent smoking-related lung cancers and other diseases," he said. During ASSIST's Phase 1, from 1991 to 1993, the state health departments funded by NCI will develop community-based tobacco control coalitions and work with them to plan specific smoking control programs. These plans will identify high-risk smoking population groups in each state and determine the best approaches for reaching these targeted groups. For example, black men, who have higher rates of tobacco use than the general public, will benefit from specially designed programs in most states. In Phase 2, from 1993 to 1998, coalitions in each ASSIST state will carry out smoking control activities through the mass media, worksites, schools, health care facilities and community organizations. Examples of methods that have proved effective in previous research and that will be used in ASSIST programs include:  Conducting media events, such as public service and paid advertising campaigns, to increase public awareness of smoking-related issues.  Increasing smoking prevention and cessation services through health provider counseling, prevention classes in schools, stop-smoking programs offered through community groups, and worksite health programs.  Educating community leaders and public officials about the benefits and importance of public health policies in combating smoking--for example, efforts to increase cigarette prices, establish clean indoor air, limit minors' access to cigarettes or restrict tobacco promotions. "Tobacco use is now responsible for more than one of every five deaths in the United States and is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in our society," Dr. Sullivan said. "More than 434,000 Americans a year--1,200 a day, 50 each hour--lose their lives from smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema." Of the 50 million smokers in America, certain groups are at particularly high risk for smoking-caused illness and death. For example:  Smoking rates among black adults remain higher than for whites, especially for black males. In 1988, about 37 percent of black males smoked, compared with about 30 percent of white males.  Smoking among Hispanics, traditionally a low-smoking population, has increased sharply in recent years. Some 29 percent of Hispanic males smoked in 1988, a rate comparable to white males. Smoking among Hispanic females, although not as common as among white females, also has risen.  Women are quitting smoking at a much slower rate than are men; lung cancer now surpasses breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.  Smoking rates among high school seniors have remained virtually unchanged over the past decade. When federal funding for ASSIST ends in 1998, NCI and ACS expect that the local tobacco control coalitions will continue to function effectively. "The work of volunteers in the community will multiply the government's investment many times over--and will make ASSIST a success," said Dr. Lawrence. "We can count on that same volunteer movement to sustain the coalitions into the 21st century, until we have a tobacco-free society." NCI is a component of the National Institutes of Health, one of the Public Health Service agencies within HHS, that funds cancer research and education. ACS is a national voluntary health agency dedicated to the elimination of cancer. # # # NOTE:  A video news package will be available by satellite feed, 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. October 4 (Coordinates: Westar 5 Satellite, Channel 22, Audio 6.2 and 6.8).  For radio stories with actualities, call HHS Radio (1- 800-621-2984; 245-0322 in D.C. metro area) and NIH Radio News (1-800-MED-DIAL).