Tobacco Control and Prevention

CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance (GHEA) is partnering with American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation to host a 2-part webinar series focused on helping communities prevent and reduce commercial tobacco use.

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 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.

June 2024, ChangeLab Solutions and the Geographic Health Equity Alliance facilitated a two-part webinar series, Policy Tools for Rural Equity & Prosperity, to explore rural policy solutions — and the policy process itself — as tools for addressing systemic barriers to health and prosperity. The recordings are now available.

On April 26, despite bi-partisan support and recommendations from public health partners, federal action to remove mentholated commercial tobacco products from the market was postponed. This setback is a reminder of the critical importance of local and state action in creating safe and healthy communities. GHEA would like to highlight a position statement by one of our partners, The Center for Black Health and Equity, on the important of this issue to African American communities, and a call to action for coalitions across the US.

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.

The tobacco industry has invested a significant amount of time and money in marketing that connects commercial tobacco products that contain nicotine with stress relief and mental well-being. The CDC reports that many of today’s youth may turn to commercial tobacco products that contain nicotine as a way to cope with stress. However, nicotine is a highly addictive drug that has been shown to worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression, especially among youth who are suffering from nicotine dependence and attempt to quit. The Truth Initiative recently released a new campaign titled “Toxic Therapy from your Vape” which aims to address the connection between vaping nicotine and its adverse effects on youth mental health.