Rural

As the new school year begins, it’s crucial to address the growing concern of youth vaping. In a recent article from the CDC, Helpful Tips for Protecting Youth from the Harms of Vaping, the CDC provides information on the harms of e-cigarettes and nicotine, shows the role parents, educators and healthcare providers can play help youth reject or quit commercial tobacco use and provides resources help youth reject or quit commercial tobacco use.

The GHEA team had the pleasure of training at Casey County Coalition’s Kentucky Youth Summit in August. This training aimed to educate youth on the importance of comprehensive, holistic k-12 commercial tobacco-free school policies and empower youth to advocate for healthier school environments.

The Frameworks Institute, in partnership with the National Network of Public Health Institutes, has recently introduced two new communication resources: “Talking about Health Equity in Rural Contexts” and the “Reframing Health Disparities Toolkit.” These resources present an evidence-based reframing strategy that emphasizes the value of dignity, aiming to enhance understanding of health equity and strengthen support for equitable policies and programs, especially in rural areas.

The Geographic Health Equity Alliance (GHEA) partnered with the National Coalition Institute and Counter Tools to host a webinar titled “E-Cigarettes and Point-of-Sale Policies”. In this webinar, Jacob Delbridge showed how the retail environment impacts nicotine use and dependence among youth and young adults. Jacob also provided evidence of how a local tobacco retail license with point-of-sale policies can prevent youth access and use.

The Rural Health Information Hub recently released a toolkit titled Rural Chronic Disease Management. The toolkit compiles evidence-based and promising practices/resources to support chronic disease management programs in rural communities across the United States.

The Public Health Law Center recently released a fact sheet that explores the harms of Purchase, Use, and Possession (PUP) laws and shares valuable solutions for policymakers and public health advocates seeking to repeal them in their state.

A growing number of states are considering or have passed e-cigarette registry bills, also known as “e-registry”, that have been predominantly supported by the commercial tobacco industry. In a recent webinar, the Public Health Law Center went over what the typical “e-registry” bill contains and convened a panel of public health experts to discuss whether and to what extent these laws advance public health goals or if they help consolidate the market for big tobacco companies while diverting attention from proven public-health strategies. The webinar recording and slides are now available.

A growing number of states are considering or have passed e-cigarette registry bills, also known as “e-registry”, that have been predominantly supported by the commercial tobacco industry. In a recent webinar, the Public Health Law Center went over what the typical “e-registry” bill contains and convened a panel of public health experts to discuss whether and to what extent these laws advance public health goals or if they help consolidate the market for big tobacco companies while diverting attention from proven public-health strategies. The webinar recording and slides are now available.

A growing number of states are considering or have passed e-cigarette registry bills, also known as “e-registry”, that have been predominantly supported by the commercial tobacco industry. In a recent webinar, the Public Health Law Center went over what the typical “e-registry” bill contains and convened a panel of public health experts to discuss whether and to what extent these laws advance public health goals or if they help consolidate the market for big tobacco companies while diverting attention from proven public-health strategies. The webinar recording and slides are now available.

CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) recently launched their 2024 Tips from Former Smokers® (Tips®) campaign. This campaign features real people sharing their stories of how cigarette smoking and secondhand smoke exposure have negatively impacted their health as well as the toll these smoking-related conditions have taken on their family members. The CDC Tips® page hosts free campaign materials and resources for partners, public health professionals, tobacco control advocates and coalitions who are working to prevent commercial tobacco use in their communities.

Across the United States, there is unequal protection offered by commercial tobacco control in significant geographical differences in commercial tobacco use, as well as poor health outcomes associated with tobacco. In 2021, the Population Level Analysis and Community Estimates (PLACES)- a collaboration between the CDC and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation- released estimates of smoking prevalence across all US Census tracts, allowing these inequities to be quantified. In a recent scientific letter, “Place Based Inequities in Cigarette Smoking Across the US”, researchers characterized inequities in cigarette smoking in 500 of the largest US cities.

The National Coalition Institute recently hosted a Research into Action webinar featuring Veronica Chaitan in which she shared findings from a recent article, “Draining the Tobacco Swamps: Shaping Tthe Built Environment to Reduce Tobacco Retailer Proximity to Residents In 30 Big US Cities,” published in Health & Place in 2022. She discussed the existing tobacco retail environment in 30 major US cities and the effect of retail reduction policies. The webinar recording is now available.