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Asian American Festival Represents Communities and Pledges Its Support in Fight Against Big Tobacco

WHAT:
Asian Heritage Street Celebration, an annual event that promotes Asian American culture signed and adopted a policy with Project RIDE prohibiting the exposure and marketing of tobacco company sponsorship at their festival. Project RIDE, a non profit public health organization that trains young Asian Americans on health and social justice issues presented this beneficial policy to the festival organizers. The organizers felt this would benefit families, participants, and the community as a whole and is in full support of this movement, Project RIDE will be present at the festival.

WHO:
A celebration of all Asian cultures, Asian Heritage Street Celebration is about promoting and fostering Asian Pacific American identity by bringing together community, and encouraging the sharing of differences and appreciation of diversity. With over 50 other community groups representing over 525,000 members and associates in the San Francisco area.

Project RIDE is a non profit public health organization that works against social injustice and provides leadership training to young Asian Americans involved in the import car scene. It has a network of over 300 young adult volunteers; aged 14-28 years old supporting its mission. Project RIDE is a program of the Bay Area Community Resources, and is funded by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section, Santa Clara County Department of Public Health and San Francisco County of Public Health.

WHY:
Big Tobacco targets Asian Americans Tobacco industry documents reveal 15 years of targeted marketing to Asian American communities and "direct marketing of cigarette brands through community events and youth oriented promotion."

More young Asian Americans are smoking
Asian Americans saw a seven-fold increase, the largest increase among any ethnic group in smoking rates from 7th to 12th grade (American Legacy Foundation 2001). RIDE surveys showed they smoked significantly more than overall sample, with 17.6% smoking every day compared to 12.3% overall.

Partnerships need to be created with the larger community

Community at large needs to be aware and be advocates in the battle against the tobacco industry's specific targeting of AAPIs. Partnerships such as these help strengthen the Asian American community.

WHERE:
Saturday, May 19, 2007, 11:00AM - 6:00PM

WHERE:
Asian Heritage Street Celebration (Howard Street, between 5th and 7th Streets, San Francisco).

Go back

Project RIDE is a program of Bay Area Community Resources. This website is made possible by the Tobacco Health Protection Act of 1988-Proposition 99, through the California Department of Public Health, under contract #10-10198, and the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Public Health Department Tobacco Master Settlement Funds.