KYCC’s Breathe Initiative Coalition is a tobacco control project under KYCC Prevention Education, addressing the harms related to tobacco use and secondhand smoking in community colleges that negatively impact the health of students. On June 4, 2024 the Breathe Initiative Coalition held a lunch with project interns to celebrate a successful Spring 2024 semester and the completion of this semester’s cohort at Pierce College.

Since 2020, Breathe Initiative Coalition has worked with numerous community colleges across Los Angeles to advocate for a smoke-free campus. Over the past year, the project has picked up momentum at Pierce College, as we gained community champions and awareness on campus. All of our coalition accomplishments are highly attributed to our exemplary interns who went above and beyond in supporting and promoting our project.

Throughout the Spring 2024 semester, Breathe Initiative Coalition was involved in numerous campus-wide events at Pierce College such as Club Rush, Milkweed Planting, Earth Day, and Health Fair. All of these events helped the coalition produce a collective voice that was delivered during various shared governance meetings in May; where students, faculty, and staff delivered a smoke-free presentation and public comment in front of Pierce College decision makers. 

“I do not wish to alienate individuals who smoke, because I understand the feeling and desire to, but I do want to advocate for students’ right to clean air,” noted Marcelo Cabrera, Project Intern and Student Club President, during his public comment at a Pierce College Council meeting. 

As a result of the coalition efforts, Pierce College Council has voted for the approval of a smoke-free campus policy, and the proposal is currently being considered by the Pierce College President and their executive team. Although the work is not yet done, this is a huge accomplishment for our project, and we are excited to continue our efforts at Pierce and other colleges this upcoming Fall 2024 semester.

The CTCP project began in 2020, and over the past 4 years, the Breathe Initiative Coalition has worked with numerous community colleges across Los Angeles to advocate for a smoke-free campus. 

This project is unded by the California Department of Public Health’s California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP).