Tobacco Control Strategies For Mississippians with Disabilities

A 2007 report released by the Centers for Disease Control suggests the smoking prevalence among people with disabilities in the U.S. is almost 50% higher for people with disabilities than people without disabilities. One in five Americans without a disability (19.8%) is a smoker, while one in three with a disability smokes (29.9%).

In Mississippi, a much higher 28.7% of people with disabilities are smokers, compared to the lower 23.1% of people without disabilities who are smokers. Why do people with disabilities in Mississippi smoke or use other tobacco products? Have they tried to access available cessation programs? What barriers prevented current programs from working for people with disabilities? Are there programs specifically for young people with disabilities that discourage them from starting to smoke?

Through Tobacco Control Strategies for Mississippians with Disabilities, the Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) at The University of Southern Mississippi proposes to discover answers to these questions and others and to better define the barriers that “limit” the ability of people with disabilities in Mississippi in receiving smoking cessation information and accessing resources.

Tobacco Control Strategies for Mississippians with Disabilities is a project funded by the Office of Tobacco Control at the Mississippi State Department of Health.