Fighting Tobacco Use among Blacks: Pilot Projects at NCCU, Morgan State Train Students to Be Better Informed on Tobacco Issues. (Noteworthy News)

Beginning of article

Significant pilot projects at two historically Black colleges and universities will train students to gather more data and address the problems facing African American smokers. The programs may well provide policy models for other HBCUs around the country.

North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in Durham, N.C. and Morgan State University in Baltimore are among 40 organizations receiving part of a $21 million grant from the American Legacy Foundation. The nonprofit organization, whose goal is to decrease tobacco use in the United States, was founded as part of the 1998 settlement between 46 states and the major tobacco companies. American Legacy's Priority Population program grants are aimed at fighting tobacco use among racial and ethnic minorities, low-income and other populations.

African Americans are no more likely to smoke than Whites--the smoking rate is 26.7 percent for African American adults compared with …