We reduce the harm caused by tobacco and secondhand smoke among Somali and East African children, youth, and adults through innovative community awareness and health education activities to change social norms around tobacco use.
The East African Smoke-Free Program collaborates with the East African community and property managers to assist in the implementation of multi-unit housing smoke-free policies as well as smoke-free community gathering spaces. Community Health Workers engage residents in outreach, surveys and health education to heighten awareness of risks involved with tobacco use and smoke exposure. The program also works with large events to adapt a tobacco free policy to maintain a tobacco and smoke-free event.
The East African Smoke-Free program is a multi-year project. This program started February 2013 and has continued as the East African Smoke-Free Program team maintains the implementation of tobacco and smoke-free policies. We are pleased the program has received positive responses to tobacco-free health education and outreach efforts from the East African community.
WellShare’s East African Smoke-Free Program is funded by the Minnesota Department of Health’s Tobacco Free Communities Grant.
Recent Program Posts
Hookah is not our culture
Background The use of hookah, also known as shisha, by the Somali community has become widespread in recent years. This…
Youth Mental Health and Substance Use
Substance use, including tobacco products such as electronic cigarettes, has increased among youth in our community. Starting in middle school,…
Vaping: Creating Awareness and Hoping for a Change
Vaping products have been the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youth since 2014. This is a result of…
Tobacco & Our Youth by Sadia Ahmed
Youth tobacco use has been an ongoing phenomenon for quite some time now. Tobacco companies have unfortunately executed many successful,…
Text Message Support for Smoking Cessation during Ramadan: A Focus Group Study
“Ramadan offers a unique window of opportunity to intervene upon smoking for Somali Muslim immigrant men, for whom rates of…
Click the video below to view our full list of EASFP videos available on our YouTube channel!
Video
Contact
Abdillahi Kahin
Program Manager
612.913.6967
abkahin@wellshareinternational.org
Resources and Tools
Vaping Poster – Somali – Downloadable
Poster | 18”x12″ | Somali Audience: Members of the Somali Community Description: An educational poster describing the facts and myths about vaping.