MLK Day
Shanteya Hudson, producer/reporter, Alabama News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is widely recognized as a day of service. Also, for some, it is a day of action and advocacy as well.
In Georgia, advocates say expanding access to support quitting smoking is critical, as thousands continue to face preventable, nicotine-related illness.
Kendric Dartis, vice president for outreach and engagement at the nonprofit Truth Initiative, said health equity starts with making sure people have the information and support they need, because individual well-being strengthens families and neighborhoods.
“Martin Luther King Jr. Day is really a call to action and not just a reflection,” he said. “Truth Initiative is showing up during the King Holiday Observance Week to really frame quitting nicotine as an act of liberation and understanding one that protects health and strengthens community.”
Truth Initiative, which focuses on policies and resources to help people quit smoking, is part of the Beloved Community Global Summit in Atlanta during King Holiday Observance Week. The summit brings together leaders from across the country to advance King’s vision of the Beloved Community through service, collaboration, and community-driven solutions.
Public health research shows tobacco companies have historically targeted Black communities, making community-based solutions especially important. In Georgia, nearly 13% of adults smoked cigarettes in 2022. Research shows quitting remains harder than it needs to be, particularly for people without reliable access to health care. Limited Medicaid coverage for cessation treatments, underfunded quit programs, and fewer resources in rural and underserved areas continue to create barriers.
Dartis said those gaps have real consequences for long-term health.
“We also know that 45,000 Black Americans die each and every year from smoking-related disease and illnesses,” he said, “so we know that we must do something differently.”
Dartis said a different approach means meeting people where they are by combining practical quitting tools with trusted, community-led support. To help address those gaps, Truth Initiative partnered with the Mayo Clinic to create the free EX Program, which offers both teens and adults personalized quitting plans, interactive text messages, and online peer support.
“The EX Program has been proven effective as the first randomized clinical trials of nicotine vaping cessation among adolescents and young adults,” he said, “and has helped millions on their journeys to quit nicotine over the past nearly two decades.”
Research shows people who use the EX Program increase their odds of quitting by up to 40%. Dartis said community-led coalitions are also central to the work, with trusted leaders on the ground leading conversations, creating safe spaces, and helping connect people to evidence-based quitting resources.
As Georgians observe MLK Day, he said helping people protect their health is one way a day of service can lead to stronger families and neighborhoods. People can access the EX Program for free at EXprogram.com or by texting EXPROGRAM to 88709
