National Native Commercial Tobacco Abuse Prevention Network

To inform the tobacco prevention community about: 1. the depth of the tobacco industry targeting; 2. gaps in AI/AN tobacco use data; 3. strategies to implement proven or promising interventions.

To build capacity by recruiting individuals and organizations to facilitate learning and information sharing within the Network and the broader public health community.

To become recognized and utilized as a go-to resource for AI/AN for tribes, tribal organizations and coalitions, states, communities, and other external partners.

The National Native Commercial Tobacco Abuse Prevention Network provides the following services:

Role of the National Network:
 
Due to persistent smoking and smokeless tobacco use disparities, AI/AN commercial tobacco use is a major concern that needs to be placed as a high public health priority. The National Native Commercial Tobacco Abuse Prevention Network addresses these concerns by developing a forum for AI/AN serving organizations to obtain and disseminate evidence-based and culturally appropriate information that work toward the identification and elimination of health disparities related to commercial tobacco.  The National Network takes leadership on commercial tobacco use issues by engaging a diverse and ever growing collective of AI/AN stakeholders and links them to critical resources that are capacity building in an effort to improve the quality of stakeholder interventions. 
 
The National Network will build a nationwide community of individuals, coalitions, and organizations dedicated to the elimination of commercial tobacco abuse and exposure to dangerous secondhand smoke. The National Network actively seeks to increase its outreach to commercial tobacco control stakeholders in several areas including, but not limited to allied health professions, educational institutions, tribal leadership, elders, and grassroots community members. 

Services:

Provide tribes and AI/AN serving organizations the scientific knowledge and technical assistance that will allow them to implement high quality interventions that are culturally competent and grounded in science.

Collect data to inform Promising Practices in Indian Country – a compendium of culturally appropriate interventions that have been scientifically evaluated and have shown to be successful among AI/AN populations.

Provide expert guidance in implementing policy – policy advocacy from planning to enforcement.

Provide technical assistance that is informed by both science and cultural relevance.