Crossings TV Asian Television
For Asian American communities who celebrate the Lunar New Year, this time of year is often celebrated as a new beginning for good fortune and good health. Since the Rat is the first sign from the 12 zodiac animals in some Asian cultures, it also gives a double meaning of renewals and begininngs. Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) and Asian Smokers’ Quitline (ASQ) encourage our community members to start the Year of the Rat in good health by becoming tobacco-free. Quitting smoking improves the health of individuals and loved ones around them.
High rates of tobacco use among Asian Americans are often overlooked because mainstream data tends to combine diverse Asian and Pacific Islander communities into one group. However, separating the data reveals that certain Asian subpopulations smoke at higher rates compared to the general U.S. population. Along with other factors, aggregation of tobacco data can perpetuate inequities of tobacco use among Asian Americans and hinder access to cessation resources.
Accessibility to in-language smoking cessation resources for Asian American populations is an essential part of advancing health equity in tobacco control. ASQprovides invaluable resources to our Chinese-, Korean- and Vietnmaese-speaking community members who have limited English proficiency. It is crucial to make sure our communities know that free help is available to lead a healthier lifestyle. You can play a vital role by sharing these resources to smokers or you can also contact ASQ to obtain free and practical informaiton on how to help others to quit.
To promote a healthy start of the New Year, ASQ will give out lucky red envelop to those who call the ASQ Chinese or Vietnamese Quitline or enroll online via www.asq-chinese.org or www.asq-viet.org to complete an intake from now till the end of February 2020. While supplies last!
About APPEAL
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) is a national health justice organization working to achieve health equity for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders (AA and NHPI) and other under served communities. APPEAL provides support and technical assistance to address tobacco and cancer related disparities among Asian American, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander Communities.
ABOUT ASQ
ASQ is operated by the Asian Smokers’ Quitline (ASQ) and funded by Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ASQ provides FREE evidence-based smoking cessation services in Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese to Asian communities in the U.S. and eligible smokers can receive a free two-week supply of nicotine patches. Studies have shown that smokers who enroll in ASQ services double their chances of quitting successfully.
ASQ is open Monday through Friday, 7am to 9pm Pacific Time (10am – Midnight Eastern Time).
To enroll, call or register online today!
- Mandarin & Cantonese 1-800-838-8917 www.asq-chinese.org
- Korean 1-800-556-5564 www.asq-korean.org
- Vietnamese 1-800-778-8440 www.asq-viet.org
Source: Cherrie Ng, PR Coordinator, 858-300-1029; asq@ucsd.edu
