“Tobacco Industry Sponsorship in a Difficult Economy ~Why Communities Should Resist the Temptation to Accept Sponsorship”

During today's difficult economic times, impoverished communities are facing great economic challenges. Tobacco industry sponsorship is a viable and easy way out for these communities. We present the efforts of the UNIDOS Project to adapt and utilize a toolkit to train agencies nationally on how to inoculate communities against accepting tobacco industry sponsorship. The UNIDOS Project is part of the Indiana Latino Institute's National Latino Tobacco Control Network, funded by the Center's for Disease Control. The presentation will showcase a toolkit that was developed through funding from California's Tobacco Control Program. The toolkit was designed to counter the tobacco industry in Hispanic/Latino communities and to serve as a useful resource to counter the industry, particularly during the current economic times, when communities may be most vulnerable to accepting tobacco industry sponsorship. The presentation will also focus on it's adaptability in terms of utilizing the toolkit to reach Hispanic/Latino communities on a national level; best practices in communicating with the Hispanic/Latino community to counter industry tactics and; provide examples of effective interventions implemented in the Hispanic/Latino communities in California.