Churches and faith have sustained African American communities for many years. From the days of holding church in hiding during slavery, to the present where churches openly provide spiritual food, meals and social services, church is where we often feel spiritually at home, connected, encouraged and safe.

As times changed, so did our churches. Churches now work to build and bless our mind, body and spirit by offering social services. Churches have always provided social services, but only recently have they received media attention due to their innovative programming and funding sources. One specific service has blessed a number of African Americans - Faithbased tobacco use prevention and cessation.

One of the primary foundations in the faithbased tobacco control movement is found, where else, but in the Bible. First Corinthians 3:16 and 17 (King James Version) asks us, if we know that our bodies are the temple of God and that God dwells in us. The scripture goes further to let us know that we should not defile our temple. Using tobacco defiles our temple. So that puts the fight against tobacco use on spiritual, mental and physical levels!

Cigarettes deposit tar in our lungs and expose our loved ones to over 4,000 chemicals in the air through secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke. Cigarette smoke has been proven to cause cancer for smokers and non-smoking family members who live with them. Smoking kills 45,000 African Americans each year. That is an average of 123 African American friends, family and congregation members every day.

What better place than the church to provide help to prevent or end tobacco use? There’s a captive audience, a need and a service based on the Bible.

The Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation, (TUPCF) funds over 72 tobacco control programs across the state of Ohio. With the diversity of tobacco control grants, TUPCF recognizes that faith-based organizations have a unique ability to reach large segments of African American communities in Ohio. The following are some of the programs offered in Ohio:

• Located in Columbus, Ohio, the First Church of God, City of Refuge, received funding for a second year to provide tobacco use prevention and cessation programs.
• C.E.A.S.E. (Changing Environments and Attitudes for Smoking Elimination) provides faith-based and culturally sensitive tobacco use prevention and smoking cessation programs to African American children, youth and adults through a partnership of faith-based organizations in Franklin County. This program also provides community education on environmental tobacco smoke. The slogan, “Secondhand smoke…? Not around my temple,” stresses the program’s work to reduce the disastrous consequences of tobacco use and secondhand smoke.

If you would like to quit using tobacco, or if you would like to help a friend or family member quit, just remember a few important tips:

1. To help someone quit, encourage them by offering your support.
2. Create a smoke free home environment.
3. Find out if your local church offers a smoking cessation program.
4. Call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA.
5. Call the free Ohio Tobacco Quit Line at 1- 800-934-4840 to receive up to five individualized sessions specifically designed for your quit needs.