RISE

Tobacco Prevention

RISE

RISE – Statewide Rural Coordinating Center

Who We Are

RISE supports rural tobacco projects by leveraging resources, providing leadership training and opportunities, and offering educational materials specially designed to assist rural communities.

Rural communities are full of hardworking people who value strength and independence. Tobacco companies understand this, so they package and advertise their deadly products to play to values of self-reliance and resiliency with images such as cowboys, hunters and race car drivers.

Big Tobacco takes advantage of weaker tobacco licensing laws in rural communities–aggressively marketing cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products, like chew.

GOALS

(1) Create and disseminate a Rural Communities Policy Platform to policymakers, community champions, and key stakeholders

(2) Develop new tobacco control leaders from among California’s rural
communities

(3) Build capacity within rural communities to engage in tobacco control policy advocacy through a series of Tobacco Control Learning Institutes

RISE’s Statement on White Privilege, Social Justice and Equity in Rural California