It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...
ABBEY ROAD
A man walks by an Abbey Road back drop at the Santa Monica Pier during the second annual Beatles Festival on Friday, Aug. 27, 2010.
PIT STOP
HAZY DAY
A layer of fog blankets the Santa Monica coastline on Friday morning, August 27, 2010.
Led Zepagain
Led Zeppelin tribute band "Led Zepagain," performs at the Santa Monica Pier during the 26th Annual Twilight Dance Series on Thursday, August 26, 2010.
ABBEY ROAD
Beatles tribute band "Abbey Road" performs at the Santa Monica Pier during the 26th Annual Twilight Dance Series on Thursday, August 26, 2010.
LENNON
Artist Greg Adamson paints a portrait of John Lennon during the 26th Annual Twilight Dance Series on Thursday, August 26, 2010.
Tweet, Tweet!
Street Performer Howard Kaminsky rides his tricycle at the Santa Monica Pier with 4 parrots in tow on Thursday, August 26, 2010.
NO SMOKING
LOS ANGELES – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today joined Los Angeles County Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Mark Ridley-Thomas and county Health Officer Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding to announce the start of the most aggressive, comprehensive anti-smoking campaign in L.A. County history to reach communities with high smoking rates across the county. This anti-tobacco effort will include several policy-based initiatives, social services and support for quit smoking efforts, as well as a high-profile and highly targeted media campaign to support a broad range of tobacco control efforts and raise awareness of free and low-cost resources to help smokers quit. These tactics will aim to ultimately reduce secondhand smoke exposure, discourage tobacco use, reduce consumption of tobacco products, strengthen youth smoking prevention efforts, and increase access to and utilization of effective tobacco cessation services.
“Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States,” said Secretary Sebelius. “The Department of Health and Human Services is committed to helping communities reduce smoking prevalence and decrease exposure to secondhand smoke. We are proud to be working with Los Angeles County, one of the leaders in tobacco prevention and control.”
While the overall smoking rate for L.A. County – at 14.3 percent – is substantially lower than the national average, there are still more than one million adults and adolescents in the county who continue to smoke. And smoking rates among certain populations continue to be much higher than the general population, including African Americans, Asian males, LGBT, those living in poverty, and those suffering from mental health and substance abuse problems. Among those racial and ethnic groups with smoking rates higher than the general population are:
African American males (32.1 percent) and females (19.6 percent)
Latino males (17.7 percent)
Korean males (44.8 percent)
Chinese males (16.4 percent)
Filipino males (17.1 percent)
Vietnamese males (24.8 percent)
“The stakes are too great for us to not step up our efforts. Over the next 18 months, the Department of Public Health will implement the most aggressive, targeted anti-tobacco campaign in L.A. County history,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and Health Officer. “These funds are allowing us to build on our successes and redouble our efforts in the communities with the greatest need.”
In addition to Public Health’s 58 current partners – including CBOs, social service agencies and statewide partners – the county will be awarding grants to an additional 71 social service agencies, including homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities, throughout L.A. County to support tobacco cessation efforts. The county will also be working in more than 75 high schools throughout L.A. County, including continuation and alternative high schools, where approximately 32.4 percent of the students are current smokers.
“These efforts are ultimately focused on preventing the next generation of teenagers and young adults from using tobacco products. It is essential that we create more environments where tobacco use is not acceptable, where all county residents are protected from exposure to secondhand smoke, and where those who want help quitting know how and where to go get it,” said Dr. Fielding.
The Department of Public Health is committed to protecting and improving the health of the nearly 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Through a variety of programs, community partnerships and services, Public Health oversees environmental health, disease control, and community and family health. Public Health comprises more than 4,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $750 million. To learn more about Public Health and the work we do, please visit http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov or visit our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/lapublichealth.