A new group is working to snuff out smoking in Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties.

A tri-county tobacco-free coalition recently replaced separate organizations in Kenosha and Racine. Joyce Erickson, the coordinator of the old Kenosha coalition, is leading the new group.

She said state budget cuts were to blame for the consolidation. But in spite of reduced funding, she is excited about what the new group could accomplish.

“Everything we’ll do, we’ll work together for the three counties,” Erickson said. “No one county will be more important; no one county will work alone. Everything we do will be together.”

Wisconsin used to have 42 state-funded tobacco prevention coalitions, Erickson said. That was until the 2009-11 state budget took effect, with a 55 percent cut to tobacco prevention funding that caused the number of groups to shrink to 13.

The Kenosha County Division of Health, which oversaw the old coalition, won the $185,865 contract to administer the tri-county body plus the Wisconsin Wins program’s underage tobacco sale compliance checks in the region.

No county dollars go into the program, said Randy Wergin, environmental health director for the Division of Health.

New law tops objectives

Erickson said the new group’s first main objective will be to help businesses embrace implementation of the smoke-free workplace law that takes effect statewide in July, affecting all businesses, including bars and restaurants.

Erickson said she expects the law to work toward another one of the coalition’s primary objectives: keeping teens from smoking.

Statistics show youth smoking tends to drop in areas that prohibit smoking in restaurants and other gathering places.

“Kids will mimic what they see,” Erickson said.

As part of the coalitions’ consolidation, Kenosha’s FACT — Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco — will join forces to build a larger group with teens in Racine and Walworth counties, Erickson said.

FACT is a statewide, youth-led campaign that seeks to empower teens to make informed choices about tobacco by studying how the industry targets them.

“I think that is particularly exciting, because teenagers love to meet people from other places,” Erickson said.

More funding sought

Wergin said he is interested to see how the former Kenosha coalition will work with the other counties to assemble programming.

He added he believes Erickson is the right person for the job.

“I think she’s done a very good job in Kenosha, and I think she will continue to do that with the other counties,” Wergin said.

Erickson, who has worked in tobacco control since 1992, said she hopes the state takes notice of the coalition’s efforts and delivers more funding in the future.

For every $20 that tobacco companies spend promoting their products, prevention organizations spend $1, she said. For every $1 spent on tobacco control, about $3 in health care savings can be realized, Erickson said.

“I am hoping that our legislators will look at this and find some more dollars,” she said.