ABHMS’ Ramsey-Lucas to be featured in anti-smoking webinar
Curtis Ramsey-Lucas, American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) managing director, Resource Development, will be a featured speaker in the “It Takes Faith: Tips from Former Smokers” campaign webinar to be held 3-4 p.m. EST on April 27.
Hosted by Faith United Against Tobacco and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the online learning experience will focus on faith-based organizations’ efforts to encourage their members to stop smoking.
Other speakers include the following:
- Vinny DeMarco, national coordinator, Faith United Against Tobacco,
- Marlene Feagan, president, Health Ministries Association,
- Bishop Larry Lee Thomas, Smoke Free Holy Grounds and
- Crystal Bruce, Health Communications Specialist, CDC.
The CDC launched the first “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign in 2012 to decrease smoking rates, save lives and prevent the kind of smoking-related suffering depicted in TV, radio, print and online ads.
ABHMS has developed a bulletin insert for use by congregations interested in participating in the campaign.
Applauding the “Tips from Former Smokers” campaign, ABHMS reminds American Baptists about the “American Baptist Resolution on the Promotion and Sale of Tobacco by U.S. Firms,” adopted by the General Board of American Baptist Churches USA in 1991. It includes language that supports a smoke-free society and guidance for youth in choosing a tobacco-free lifestyle, while it condemns practices related to the production and marketing of tobacco products.
Cigarette smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke cause more than 480,000 U.S. deaths yearly and are among the main causes of early disability1. For every individual who dies from smoking, 30 more suffer from illnesses related to smoking1, including asthma, Buerger’s Disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
To register for the webinar, go to http://bit.ly/21Kv1qs. To learn more about the campaign, visit http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking—50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2014 [accessed 2014 April 26].
