Mississippi State Department of Health, Office of Tobacco Control provides funding for the Mississippi Tobacco-Free Coalitions (MTFCs). There are 34 MTFCs that cover the 82 counties of the state and implement tobacco control programs at the grassroots level. The MTFCs are community-based coalitions that work to prevent the initiation of tobacco use among youth, reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, promote tobacco cessation services, and eliminate tobacco-related disparities. The coalitions partner with schools, faith-based and community service organizations, businesses, and a number of health advocacy organizations to provide education and resources to the communities that they serve, and provide assistance to Mississippi municipalities in working towards comprehensive smoke-free ordinances.
Coalitions in Mississippi
Currently, Tobacco-Free Coalitions are located in the following areas of the state:
- MTFC of Adams, Jefferson, and Franklin Counties
- MTFC of Alcorn and Tippah Counties
- MTFC of Prentiss and Tishomingo Counties
- MTFC of Pearl River and Hancock
- MTFC of Jackson County
- MTFC of Covington and Smith Counties
- MTFC of Forrest, Jones and Perry Counties
- MTFC of Wayne, Clarke, and Jasper Counties
- MTFC of Coahoma and Tunica Counties
- MTFC of Bolivar and Sunflower Counties
- MTFC of Quitman and Tallahatchie Counties
- MTFC of Amite, Pike, and Wilkinson Counties
- MTFC of Rankin, Scott, and Simpson Counties
- MTFC of Noxubee, Kemper, and Neshoba Counties
- MTFC of Grenada, Yalobusha, and Calhoun Counties
- MTFC of Harrison County
- MTFC of Lauderdale and Newton Counties
- MTFC of Lamar and Marion
- MTFC of Lawrence, Jefferson Davis, and Walthall Counties
- MTFC of Washington, Sharkey, and Issaquena Counties
- MTFC of Union, Benton, and Marshall Counties
- MTFC of George, Green, and Stone Counties
- MTFC of Panola, Lafayette, and Pontotoc Counties
- MTFC of Itawamba and Monroe Counties
- MTFC of Lee and Chickasaw Counties
- MTFC of Madison, Yazoo, and Holmes Counties
- MTFC of Hinds County
- MTFC of Desoto and Tate Counties
- MTFC of LeFlore, Carroll, and Humphreys Counties
- MTFC of Montgomery, Choctaw and Webster Counties
- MTFC of Claiborne and Warren Counties
- MTFC of Attala, Winston, and Leake Counties
- MTFC of Oktibbeha, Lowndes, and Clay Counties
- MTFC of Copiah and Lincoln Counties
Activities
Activities that the Coalitions conduct in their communities include:
- "Catch My Breath"(Evidence-Based Curriculum in schools and the communities)
- Monthly Awareness Presentation
- Advocacy Activities
- "Freedom from Smoking" (Cessation Program for multi-unit housing and low income adults)
- "Merchant Training" (Awareness Training for businesses to comply with Tobacco Laws (T21)
They also participate in annual national observances:
- Great American Smoke-Out (November)
- Take Down Tobacco (formerly known as Kick Butts Day) (March)
- No Menthol Sunday (May)
