FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                    
Date: January 20, 2010  

Contacts:                                                                                            
Kathryn Kevin    (919)-835-1525 ext 245
Patricia Mancio (919)-835-1525 ext 243

Young Latino Leaders Celebrate Clean North Carolina Air at New Law Celebration


Raleigh, NC – On Thursday January 21, 2010, members of the Latino community will gather at Hacienda Ristorante for a new smoke-free law celebration led by the No Fumo Youth Leadership TRU Program. Pictures will be available after the event.

At midnight on January 2, 2010 restaurants, bars and other businesses that serve food and drink in Wake County became smoke-free, to the delight of health advocates and the many local residents who were looking forward to healthier nights out.  This was a result of a new law that prohibits smoking in all restaurants and bars across North Carolina.

“The new smoke-free law helps protect workers and customers from the known health hazards of secondhand smoke, and may encourage many folks to eat out more than ever, now that doing so is safer,” said Florence Simán Director of Health Programs at El Pueblo, Inc.

For more information about the law or to report a violation, visit www.smokefree.nc.gov or call the CARE-LINE at 1-800-662-7030. Information is also available by calling the Wake County Health Department at (919) 250-4516.

El Pueblo’s No Fumo (“I don’t Smoke”) Youth Leadership Program, funded by the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund since 2004, is an initiative to prevent the use of tobacco and to increase cessation among Latino youth in North Carolina.  No Fumo currently works with locally based youth leadership teams as well as conducting trainings with a number of school and church based groups across the state.

Since 1994, El Pueblo, Inc. has become a leading Latino statewide organization dedicated to strengthening the NC Latino community.  El Pueblo, Inc. reaches its mission through programs that are organized by and for the community and include: Leadership Development, Civic Participation, Health, Youth, Culture, Advocacy, Education, and Training. 

The NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund makes North Carolina stronger, both physically and economically, by funding programs that promote preventive health. Created by the General Assembly in 2000 to allocate a portion of North Carolina's share of the national tobacco settlement, HWTF has invested $199 million to support preventive health initiatives and $102 million to fund prescription drug assistance programs. For more information, please visit: www.HealthWellNC.com