The National Cancer Institute’s Smokefree.gov Initiative (SFGI) has partnered with the Indian Health Service (IHS) to launch a new, free text messaging resource to help American Indian and Alaska Native adults and adolescents quit smoking commercial tobacco.

SFGI and IHS worked with experts from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the American Indian Cancer Foundation to develop SmokefreeNATIVE to join together evidence-based smoking cessation support with key themes and content reflecting American Indian and Alaska Natives’ cultural experiences, worldviews, and traditions.  The program offers six weeks of smoking cessation assistance and support with up to two weeks of preparation messages.  People who smoke and are ready to set a date to quit can enroll online or by texting NATIVE to 47848.

The collaboration, in line with President Biden’s 2022 reignition of the Cancer Moonshot, is an important step toward reducing the nation’s cancer death rate by half within 25 years and improving the experience of people who are touched by cancer.

For more information on this launch, view the IHS blog post.