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NCPC Interns and Research Assistants Support Health Departments
Kaylie Burdine helps Kings County Public Health Dept. show the effects of smoking at Liberty Middle School, Lemoore (left), while Vanika Kang helps Stanislaus County Public Health Dept....
NCPC Research Collaborator Trains New Central Valley Tobacco Advocates with New Grant
A group of Fresno State students, led by Dr. Rosa Toro, is conducting a research project studying the effects of tobacco and nicotine-related issues on the Latin community.
Training the Next Generation of Tobacco Advocates
NCPC Interns took part of a Tobacco Summit in June of 2024 to advocate for involving and training youth as agents of change.
Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center Gets $3.9 Million Extension
NCPC receives a $3.9 million grant extenstion from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, which funds research that aims to achieve health equity for all Californians. 
NCPC CSU Stanislaus TRDRP Grant Dr. Anna Song Dr. Jose Diaz-Garayua
NCPC, Stanislaus State Awarded $1.4 Million to Help Snuff Out Tobacco Use
The two universities have been awarded a $1.4 million Smoke and Vape Free Scholars Initiative Program Award collaborative grant from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP).

 

 

THE MISSION

The mission of the Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC), following our funding renewal in June 2024 from the Tobacco Related Disease Research Program, has been refined to reflect the data gathered in our first 5 years. When first created, the NCPC aimed to gather, understand, and promote the thoughts and feelings of rural California residents on tobacco and cannabis policy, via large scale surveys across 11 counties of the San Joaquin Valley and adjoining mountains. 

As we look to the next 5 years, we aim to embolden community partners and share policy-influencing data in the long battle against the pervasive use of tobacco and other inhalants, helping work towards reducing tobacco-related diseases and deaths in this overlooked and underserved region of rural California.

The center will continue to be at the forefront of examining the impacts of tobacco and cannabis use, while also engaging local residents through community workshops to gather feedback, which in turn can help develop new and exisitng tobacco and cannabis policies. The NCPC's success relies on our close collaborations with San Joaquin Valley county health departments and community-based organizations.

The Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC) is part of the Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI)

 

FIND OUT MORE!

We really want to know what you think about current policies in your county for nicotine and cannabis.

If you're over the age of 18 and live in Central California, you're eligible to join.

Click the button to get in touch, we would love to hear from you.

 

 

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COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

The NCPC is partnering with several key community organizations in the San Joaquin Valley. Click the logos below.

The NCPC will work closely with CDPH members and local Public Health Departments to identify crucial policy issues within the 11 counties and help with research recruitment and diseminating our findings.

The California Health Collaborative  is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization based in Fresno, committed to enhancing the quality of life and health of people in California, particularly the underserved and under represented. 

The Tobacco-Use Prevention Education (TUPE) Capacity Building Project aims to build the capacity of school-based TUPE programs across the state by using a collaborative approach to highlight model programs and best practices, share resources, and support data-driven continuous improvement efforts. 

 

NCPC MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

Click the links for NCPC related news or stories utilizing our expertize.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COVID-19 News

VOICES OF THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY

  What concerns me the most about smoking and vaping now, is the vaping - the E-cigarettes. Those are flavored and they makes kids think that its OK, because it's flavored. A lot of people don't see danger in things that look and tastes good. They don't know how deadly or addictive it could be.
- Necola Adams, Merced Resident.

 

TOBACCO AND NICOTINE EFFECTS ON COVID-19

Please review the attachments below for information in both English and Spanish, summarizing the emerging literature on COVID-19 and the effects of tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure. The literature is evolving as research on COVID-19 is rapidly emerging and disseminating; these reports and fact sheets will be updated regularly. Click the Images for the full PDF and Watch the Retro Report documentary featuring Dr. Anna Song:

COVID-19 REPORT NCPC Uc Merced AprilCOVID-19 and smoking NCPC UC Merced

To get the lastest information on COVID-19 and the association with toboccco, vaping & secondhand smoke, click the button below

 

NCPC OFFICE LOCATIONS

NCPC MERCED OFFICE, SOCIAL SCIENCE & MANAGEMENT BUILDING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UC Merced Health Research News

Sugar pine cones
November 20, 2024

Sugar pines are the tallest pine species in the world, and they only grow along the West Coast of North America. They are a valued source of timber with cones as large as an adult’s forearm. But they...

November 14, 2024

  Solid and sharable research data must go hand in hand with collaboration and caring to tackle the health gaps that trouble minoritized and underserved populations in the San Joaquin Valley and...

UC Merced Spendlove Prize Tsitsi Dangarembga
November 14, 2024

Tsitsi Dangarembga spread the spirit of ubuntu over UC Merced on Wednesday night, imparting its message of “how we can be good people who live well together.” Dangarembga, a Zimbabwean filmmaker,...