Yaneth L. Rodriguez, member of the Center for Health Equity in the Americas and also part of the Latino Coordinating Center for a Tobacco-free California, had the honor and privilege to attend and participate in the two-day meeting entitled the APPEAL/ADEPT National Equity in Cessation Meeting, hosted by the Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership (APPEAL) and the ADEPT Equity Collaborative. The meeting was held in San Francisco on Monday, September 25, and Tuesday, September 26, 2023.
The ADEPT Equity Collaborative is an independent collective working to help advance equity for priority populations particularly in commercial tobacco prevention and control. Our partners represent the African American/Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian American, Latino, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and LGBTQ+ populations, particularly in California. APPEAL is a national health justice organization dedicated to eliminating commercial tobacco use and other health disparities. Together, APPEAL and the ADEPT Equity Collaborative gathered key community leaders, advocates, and researchers who have experience working with the five racial groups and LGBTQ+, to explore solutions to address equity in commercial tobacco cessation.
The purpose of this meeting was to:
- Discuss the current barriers to equitable cessation services and access;
- Provide input on the identified topic “buckets,” including research and data, health systems coverage, modalities, communications, and policy; and
- Develop policy recommendations for advancing equity in cessation.
We thank all the participants who attended this very important meeting. Pictured below are the meeting attendees who represented the Chicano/Chicana and Latino/a/e/x community.
