Local Tobacco-Free Coalitions work to implement tobacco control programs among youth, adults and communities across the state.
Mississippi State Department of Health's 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 Day (April 1)
- No Menthol Sunday (May)
