Lung Health News, Spring Summer 2001
Shirley Tartak was a secondhand smoke activist long before it was fashionable. In the 1960s, she volunteered for an anti-smoking group in North Hollywood. She is concerned about secondhand smoke because like so many other Californians, she has asthma.
Her asthma and concerns about smoke and the tobacco industry spurred Tartak to name the American Lung Association of California’s Redwood Empire Branch in her will. It was the best way she could think of to make sure the organization continues its work in the areas of asthma and tobacco control after she is gone.
"I just appreciate everything being done," Tartak says. "I support all the research the American Lung Association is doing into asthma and everything they’re doing to keep people from smoking and getting them to quit."
Tartak wants to make sure her investments work toward making the world a better place. She won’t invest in any tobacco-owned companies and has instructed her financial planner to stay away from funds that include tobacco subsidiaries.
Continuing her activism in her own way, Tartak manages to spread the message about tobacco. And with her help, the American Lung Association will be able to move that agenda forward in the future.
