The California Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Network

Principal Investigator: Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati

Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Network web site »

The Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research at the University of Southern California serves as the lead agency for the California Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Education Network (H/LaTEN). The network advocates for Hispanic/Latinos statewide and has a membership of over 1,000 agencies and individuals from throughout California, the nation and the world.

The H/LaTEN develops and tests innovative, culturally based community interventions on the adoption of tobacco control policies in the Hispanic/Latino communities of California as related to countering tobacco industry sponsorship and on voluntary expansion of tobacco control regulation beyond the current parameters of AB13 (smoke free bar and workplace law).

The network also serves as a resource for community empowerment, community involvement, and technical assistance and training to build leadership skills and cultural competency on tobacco control issues in education, research, community action and policy as they affect Hispanic/Latino populations.

In addition, the network offers a mini-grants program to provide community-based organizations with approximately $5,000 each for the development of innovative research or interventions that will creatively work with Hispanic/Latino populations in tobacco control.

The network also works collaboratively with other statewide Ethnic Tobacco Education Networks to conduct cultural competency trainings and annual information and education visits to state legislators in Sacramento.

The network is funded by the California Department of Health Services’ Cancer Control Branch through the Tobacco Control Section.