Health, progress and success without smoking and tobacco use!

State and Nationwide Interest:
Smoke Free Society Education Corporation (SFSEC) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt advocacy organization to influence public opinion concerning tobacco use.

A smoke and tobacco free lifestyle can increase productivity and cost savings, while eliminating disability, disease and death caused by tobacco use.

SFSEC is a first-of-its-kind and much-needed research and education center that will help save millions of Florida’s and the Nation’s citizens’ and their children’s lives by reducing the number of those who smoke and preventing children from ever starting to smoke and use tobacco. It will also help prevent millions of health crises while saving billions of dollars of Floridian’s citizens’ hard-earned money for generations to come. In addition, it will:

• Ensure important, vital health research and education programs and initiatives that relate to smoking and tobacco use prevention, cessation, research and education for Florida’s children and elders.

• Encourage the development of community-based solutions that include stop smoking, prevention and education campaigns to strengthen and improve the quality of life of Florida's most vulnerable citizens –  its children and elders.

• Utilize state-tobacco settlement moneys as the additional source of enhanced funding to ensure the financial security of vital smoking and tobacco related health awareness and education programs for children and elders.

• Provide tobacco and smoking related research and educational services for the State’s children's health programs, and the elderly’s and children's community-based health awareness and education initiatives, programs, and biomedical research on tobacco use.

• Initiate public-health and biomedical research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of diseases related to tobacco use by creating the foundation of biomedical knowledge relating to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of diseases related to smoking and tobacco use, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and pulmonary disease.

• Improve the quality of the State's academic health centers by bringing the advances of biomedical research on smoking and tobacco use, prevention and cessation into the training of physicians and other health care providers.

• Undertake new initiatives in biomedical research relating to smoking and tobacco use that will attract additional interest and funding from outside the State and from around the world further stimulating activities in the areas related to biomedical research and education while contributing to broader economic and employment developments.

• Play a vital role in increasing Statewide awareness, education, prevention, cessation programs and research that can lead to reduction of smoking and tobacco use among Florida’s citizens and its children by effectively educating them on the negative health and wealth hazards of smoking and tobacco use and the benefits of quitting and living a healthy lifestyle which can lead to increased productivity and cost savings while eliminating disability, disease and death caused by smoking and tobacco use – a win, win combination for all Floridians and the Nation’s citizens, their children and the elderly to benefit from, for generations to come.

Project Description - To effectively address this most-important issue that affects all Americans, whether they smoke or not, we need a nonprofit corporation and research and education center (Center) that is solely dedicated to, and one that focuses solely on, smoking and tobacco use prevention, education, awareness, cessation and research, as the American Cancer Society is to cancer.

This first-of-its-kind smoking and tobacco use prevention, research and education facility, a permanent campus-style, think-tank Center will provide, host and facilitate ongoing conferences and conventions to bring together smoking cessation professionals (i.e. educators, teachers, physicians, psychologists, substance abuse specialists, etc.) and other experts, especially in biomedical research, from around the State, Nation and the world to research, study, share and exchange ideas and facts to bring about effective solutions and address this most-important issue of the 21^st century that is estimated to kill 1 billion people worldwide and sicken many millions more by the end of this century alone.

There is a direct correlation between education/awareness and smoking/tobacco use that can be greatly improved by effective education and prevention programs that the Center will develop and provide to the public, schools, community centers, etc.

The Center will be a model solution to the rest of the Nation and the world – a tangible facility that will benefit Floridians and the Nation in many more ways such as creating employment, worldwide recognition, increased productivity, helping cut healthcare costs and saving money for employees, employers and local, State and Federal governments.

This campus-style, multi-use facility with a park, gardens and indoor and outdoor complexes will have ample room for biomedical research and education and for special events that will combine education and entertainment to make learning fun and effective, encouraging the public to visit often with their families and children for a day of smoke free learning and fun. The Center will have a great, positive social impact on the community by providing affordable, publicly-supported facilities to enhance their daily lives in a smoke free environment. The Center is also eager to work and cooperate with other concerned nations and intends to invite a select group to participate by constructing their own research facilities on the campus to globalize and energize the cause while creating over 1,000 jobs in the County and State.

The broad-based support by Federal, State and local leadership, with  appropriation commitments for this project, along with Floridians' overwhelming support for the passage of Amendment 4 – Keeping kids smoke free – are further testaments of concern for the health and  wellbeing of our citizens and their children. Federal and State investments in this effective, first-of-its-kind Center is money well appropriated. It will further encourage community involvement, private donations and most importantly, increase awareness and service availability to the growing population of Florida. The Center will help educate children to prevent them from a lifelong enslavement to smoking and tobacco use, while helping smokers who want to quit, quit and stay smoke free through awareness, education and effective programs. Build it, and for generations, they will come!

Funding sources - Funding for the organization and its research and education Center will be obtained from the following resources:

1. Public - As a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation, the organization and its Center will be supported through tax-deductible, public and private donations and philanthropy.

2. Federal government

3. Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund – created under Florida Statute 215.5601, the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund is to fund community-based and community-supported initiatives, such as SFSEC, that will help reduce smoking and tobacco use, especially among our children and elderly.

4. Amendment 4 – keep kids smoke free, was overwhelmingly passed by Floridians in 2005 to protect people, especially the youth, from addiction, disease, and other health hazards from using tobacco. The Legislature shall use a portion of the Tobacco Settlement money annually for a comprehensive statewide tobacco education and prevention program, such as SFSEC.

5. State Community Budget Issue Request (CBIRS)

6. County Business Development Funds

7. State Business Development Funds

8. State tobacco sales tax revenue

9. Foundations Donations

10. Corporate donations

11. Philanthropists

12. Other nations

Build it, and for generations, they will come - The math behind the need, public support and funding for this Center, although simple, is very convincing – 1 in 4, or nearly 50 million, Americans still smoke and the other 250 million urgently want their loved ones to quit. That's 300 million Americans alone who need and will be using this Center and its services to help save theirs and their loved ones' health and wealth. Our citizens need a place they can turn to for effective and unbiased solutions to quit smoking/use tobacco. Using the same math, we are certain that even with a small annual donation from just 10% of Americans, the organization will raise the necessary funding to carry on its vital services.

Measurable Outcome Anticipated - Success will be measured by the number of smokers reached and children/general public/elders educated. Our goal is to reach 5 million children/public/elderly in the first 5 project years and effectively educate them on the dangers of smoking and the benefits of staying smoke free. Over 5 million people/smokers will also be reached that will lead to saving thousands of smokers’ lives by helping them quit smoking. By doing so, many millions more people and children will also be saved from the exposure to secondhand smoke.

The Center project consists of 4 phases, implemented over the next 10 years and beyond:

Phase I - January 2009 - June 2012
With funding from the Federal, State and County governments, the Center will acquire temporary facilities to house the Center while the permanent location is found and constructed; will establish fundraising committee to raise additional funding through public and private donations; will establish its research and education committee to begin the planning for the biomedical research and educational facility and programs and begin implementation; will complete its feasibility study; will obtain local and Statewide community support; will establish a site selection and building overview committee; will locate and acquire the desirable land; will break ground for the first stage of construction of the main facility. Number of full-time and part-time employees by the end of Phase I is estimated to be 250.

Phase II - July 2012 - June 2015
The first stage of the Center’s construction will be completed and in operation; landscaping, roads and other amenities will be completed; will continue with and expand the research and education Center; will employ more professionals to help with implementation and expansion of its research and education programs; will begin to invite a select group of other concerned nations to participate by constructing their own research facility on the campus to share knowledge and research, as well as the up-keep costs of the Center. Projected number of full-time and part-time employees by the end of Phase II is estimated to be 500.

Phase III - July 2015 - June 2017
The Center’s services and programs will be expanded through increase in the budget and staffing; will continue with its invitation to a select group of other concerned nations to participate by constructing their own research facility to share knowledge and research, as well as the up-keep costs of the Center. Projected number of full-time and part-time employees by the end of Phase III is estimated to be 700.

Phase IV - July 2017 - Beyond
All construction of the main center facility is completed; will have further partnered with other concerned nations selectively invited to build their research facilities on the SFSEC campus to share knowledge and research, as well as the up-keep costs of the Center. The Center will be fully operational to carry out its mission in biomedical research, prevention, education and cessation programs – a tangible facility that will service all Floridians, their children and the elderly for generations to come. Projected number of full-time and part-time employees by the end of Phase IV is estimated to be 1,000+. In addition, other Nations’ research and education centers will create many more hundreds of jobs and will further contribute to the local and State economy.

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