Interact for Health awards Highland County Health Department $20,000 grant

Interact for Health announced Thursday in honor of the local foundation’s 20th anniversary, it is awarding funding to the Highland County Health Department to support the Highland County Tobacco Prevention Project to end tobacco use in the community.

The grant is part of a larger Interact for Health initiative, celebrating the organization’s 20th anniversary by providing $20,000 in to each of the 20 counties in the Greater Cincinnati region to reduce tobacco use in low-income communities. The term tobacco use includes, but is not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, vaping, hookah, e-cigarettes and chewing tobacco.

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“Interact for Health has been focused on building healthy communities for the past 20 years,” Dr. O’dell Owens, president of Interact for Health, said. “We’re celebrating two decades of making our region a healthier place by fueling our community partners in Highland County to lower the use of tobacco, the number-one preventable cause of death and disease among our neighbors.”

More than 16 million Americans have at least one disease caused by smoking, which equals $170 billion in direct medical costs every year. The smoking rates in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are all higher than the national average, and rates are significantly higher for low-income and minority populations. Despite declining universal smoking rates, great health disparities still exist. Individuals with less than a high school education, below the Federal Poverty Level, and who live in rural locations are using tobacco at significantly higher rates than the national average. This is true in Highland County, where 16 percent of high school students have smoked a cigarette in the past 30 days, compared to the national average of 8 percent. Over 28 percent of students report using some sort of tobacco product at least annually. 

“Historically, tobacco prevention efforts have not focused on our poorest communities, which has left huge disparities,” Owens said. “To move toward the goal of having the healthiest region in the country, we need to reduce tobacco in every community and neighborhood.”

Grants in each county are focused on tobacco prevention and the expansion of tobacco-free environment. “Highland County Tobacco Prevention Project” provides tobacco prevention education to the community’s youth. The Highland County Health Department will train parents on ways to identify signs of tobacco and other substance abuse, educate students on the risks of tobacco use, and work with community partners to share tobacco prevention information. For more information about this program, visit the health department at www.highlandcountyhealth.org, or contact the department at (937) 393-1941.  

About Interact for Health
Interact for Health builds healthy communities for all people as a catalyst for health and wellness by promoting healthy living through grants, education, research, policy and engagement. Interact for Health is an independent foundation that serves 20 counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. For more information, visit interactforhealth.org.