New Hope Baptist Church Adopts a Smoke-Free Campus Policy

On Saturday, February 11, 2012, New Hope Baptist Church, 1851 Howard Street, Little Rock, Arkansas was draped with community and public health leaders, elected officials, such as state senator, Joyce Elliot and Little Rock Mayor, Mark Stodola, concerned citizens, and members of the New Hope Baptist Church demonstrating their support for a new 100% smoke-free church campus policy adopted by the leadership of this inner-city church. The public health awareness press conference informed those in attendance and the general public of the perils of smoking and the negative health impact tobacco use has on African-American communities. In the U.S., 20.6% of African-Americans smoke, but account for only 12% of the U.S. population. 45,000 African-Americans die annually from smoking related causes. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both African American men and women and kills more African Americans than any other type of cancer.

Historically, the African-American Church has been a strong force within African-American communities. New Hope Baptist Church leadership team believes the church should serve as a role model by adopting a 100% smoke-free campus policy and by sending powerful smoke-free/tobacco-free messages to its church members and surrounding neighbors. The recently adopted smoke-free campus policy adopted by New Hope will restrict smoking on church grounds and at church sponsored events held elsewhere. According to Reverend Michael Perkins, Pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, “An effective way to reach and educate people with the highest risk of suffering the harms from smoking and other tobacco use is for the church to become actively engaged in tobacco prevention and education efforts and adopt smoke-free/tobacco-free policies.”

Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas (CTFA), the sponsor of the event, encourages other churches to adopt similar policies to protect their members and others from the dangers of secondhand smoke exposure which is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States.