News and Events
The Tobacco Free Partnership of DeSoto County Seeks New Members
September 22, 2023
The mission of the Tobacco-Free Partnership of DeSoto County is to mobilize community partners to establish long-lasting system and policy changes that promote tobacco-free social norms to prevent usage of tobacco products by youth/young adults, encourage and support tobacco cessation, eliminate health hazards of secondhand smoke, and decrease the number of deaths due to tobacco products.
Our local efforts are crucial in protecting people, especially youth, from the hazards of using and being exposed to tobacco products. In fact, we had several big wins last fiscal year. Among many things, our TFP and SWAT Youth members were able to convince DeSoto County BOCC to adopt a Tobacco Free Parks Ordinance, and assist the Saturday Night Lights Committee, an event that brings in hundreds of community members, implement a 100% tobacco free events policy. As a thank you to these organizations for taking the health of others serious, our TFP provided signage free of cost to help bring attention to, and enforce, their policy(s).
This fiscal year, our members are looking forward to continuing our efforts and we’d love for you to join us as we strive to:
- Provide residents with clean, breathable air by implementing a Tobacco Free Parks Policy in City owned parks and recreational facilities
- Reduce the social norms associated with tobacco use in our rural community by helping various organizations adopt Tobacco Free Events and Venues policies
- Partner with DeSoto County School District to reduce youth vaping rates, particularly by strengthening board policy and encouraging our schools to utilize the free, age-appropriate online youth vaping citation courses available to elementary, middle, and high school students
- Continue to recruit new, engaged members to our TFP and SWAT Youth, as well as gain more traction by volunteering and being present at local community wide events
If you’d like more information on joining our Tobacco Free Partnership and/or becoming involved in any way, please visit our website at http://wwww.tfp-desoto.org or reach out to the Tobacco Program Manager, Jodie DeLoach, at jdeloach@quitdoc.com
