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New alliance forms to snuff out tobacco use

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Debbra J. Fischer

BELOIT — A new multi-jurisdictional coalition will focus on tobacco control efforts in Rock County and four other counties.

The Southwest Alliance for Tobacco Control will be led by the Family Service Association/Rock County Youth2Youth, said Debbie Fischer, director.

It is one of 13 such coalitions in Wisconsin and encompasses tobacco prevention efforts in Rock, Green, Grant, Lafayette and Iowa counties, she said.

The alliance was formed after the Tobacco Control Program lost 55 percent of its 2010 state funding, Fischer said.

Big tobacco companies spend millions of dollars each year in Wisconsin promoting their products to youth and young adults, she said. New tobacco products—such as candy-flavored tobacco products and spitless and absorbable products—are being introduced to target youth, she said.

“The tobacco companies are not going away, and tobacco control efforts can’t either. It’s imperative that tobacco prevention efforts continue to educate and deter youth from beginning a tobacco addiction,’’ Fischer said.

That’s where the new alliance comes in, she said.

Task forces will operate in each county and will focus on:

-- Implementation of statewide smoke-free air policy.

-- Youth prevention, educating the community about new tobacco products, policy work and cessation programs.

-- Coordination of tobacco prevention and control efforts.

Wisconsin becomes a smoke-free state July 5, Fischer said.

“But our work is not done,” she said. “The tobacco industry is always five steps ahead of us, and we must stay on the pathway to help our kids never start and help the people who are addicted to quit. We feel the newly formed multi-jurisdictional coalition will help us do just that.”