Welcome to the MCCTFA blogspot!!!

(Pictured: MCCTFA Program Coordinator Elroy Brown and Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jocelyn Elders at 2007 Saving Lives of Arkansas Children Annual Banquet)

The Mississippi County Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Arkansas (MCCTFA) is a tobacco intervention program based in Blytheville, Arkansas. Our mission is to reduce tobacco-related illnesses and tobacco use among youth and adults. Often called the "tobacco man", MCCTFA Program Coordinator Elroy Brown is a force to be reckoned with. He is very focused on the MCCTFA mission and is well respected nation-wide by legislators, activists, and many likeminded entities and individuals for his tenacity, commitment, and accomplishments.

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Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and affecting the health of smokers in general. Quitting smoking has immediate as well as long-term benefits for you and your loved ones. Learn more about the harmful effects of smoking, smokeless tobacco, and secondhand smoke from the resources below and find out about resources that address prevention at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco.

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Since 2003, the total number of people who have quit using tobacco in our county is 154, which totals $23,593,594.00 of excess medical costs saved in the state of Arkansas as a direct result of the MCCTFA tobacco control efforts. MCCTFA has reached over 185,000 residents during the 2006-2007 funding cycle. This number is substantiated through signatures, twenty-six church bulletin announcements (reaching over 200 people each week), 10 monthly coalition meetings in various cities within Mississippi County, and five special public programs that have allowed many to hear the mission, strategies, and tactics of MCCTFA. Other venues to disseminate information have included: the MCCTFA annual banquet, “Saving the Lives of Arkansas' Children”, which featured former U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders as the keynote speaker in April 2006 and April 2007 and 36 newspaper articles that reach over 10,000 daily readers.

Sustainability efforts are continuously developed through an annual banquet, business and private citizen contributions, and other fundraising endeavors. Community, Constituencies, Capitol, and Continuity are the foundational focus and pillars of the agency. Alliances with local, state, and national political champions are formed to seek resources.

The Mississippi County Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Arkansas (MCCTFA) offers empowerment opportunities through evaluative goals, processes, outcomes, and strategic planning to help those who want to quit smoking. This includes concerns and plans to implement prevention and cessation programs within the county by collaborating with legislators, retailers, educators, and professional healthcare organizations.

Feel free to take a look at the collaborative efforts of Arkansas local grantees, evaluators, funders, and legislators at http://tobaccoprevention.blogspot.com/ and how our groups have helped to save lives and medical costs in the state of Arkansas.

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"Sure smokers have made personal choices. And they pay for those choices every day, whether sitting through an airline flight dying for a smoke, or dying for a smoke in the oncology wing of a hospital. The tobacco companies have not paid nearly enough for the killing." - Anonymous