We are also excited to partner again with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to support local youth tobacco coalitions called Resist chapters that work on peer-to-peer education, awareness, and policies that prevent tobacco use across the state. Counter Tools is providing youth-focused technical assistance on commercial tobacco control prevention and control efforts in the retail environment, supporting Resist chapter youth advocates in conducting assessments at tobacco retail stores in their Kansas communities, and working with KDHE to develop a data visualization dashboard to convey key store assessment findings.

“Conducting these store assessments will give students a great opportunity to go into their community and see how prevalent tobacco products are. We have conducted retailer assessments in the past, and the students really enjoyed the chance to do hands-on work and collect data, and see firsthand what is being sold and advertised in our communities. Having this data will benefit our community as it will allow us to see what the needs are for tobacco retail policies, how to better educate and protect the young people in our community, and what work still needs to be done.”

-Ariel Cohn, Prevention Specialist at DCCCA

We are thrilled to be partnering with CADCA in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health to create and implement Take Back Your 10, a comprehensive strategy for designing and launching a youth-led, adult-guided tobacco prevention and control movement in Maryland. Youth participants created the Take Back Your Ten (TB10) name for their movement to reflect their commitment not only to reclaiming the potential ten years lost in the average lifespan of tobacco users, but also to advocate for their communities to join the cause. As part of this partnership, Counter Tools will besupporting strategic planning efforts, conducting virtual and in-person training, and creating a Point-of-Sale Youth Activity Guide unique to Maryland youth to chronicle how tobacco products are being advertised, marketed, and sold at the point of sale in their communities.

The photo was captured by LeAnne Richardson of a youth advocate conducting a store assessment in Kansas City, KS on Thursday, October 26, 2023.

As other forms of tobacco marketing have been restricted, tobacco companies now spend 97% of their marketing budget — $8.4 billion a year — to saturate convenience stores, gas stations, and other retail outlets with incentives and reminders to buy their addictive products. Tobacco companies pay stores to ensure that tobacco products are advertised heavily, displayed prominently, and priced cheaply to appeal to both kids and current tobacco users.

Convenience stores have become partners with — and front groups for — the tobacco industry in fighting restrictions on the sale of flavored tobacco products, higher tobacco taxes, and other public policies proven to reduce tobacco use.

Originally released in 2012, this 2023 update includes:

• The latest data from the Federal Trade Commission reports on marketing expenditures by the top cigarette, smokeless, and e-cigarette companies, which continue to show high proportions of spending at the point-of-sale
• Updated evidence of point-of-sale marketing to youth and communities of color
• Examples of the widespread availability of kid-friendly flavored tobacco products at the point-of-sale
• New examples of the tobacco and convenience store industries working together to oppose effective tobacco control policies
• A description of the corrective statements – court-ordered signs posted at the point of sale by the tobacco companies – resulting from the 2006 landmark ruling that tobacco companies had lied to the public for decades
• New research on the impact of tobacco control policies on convenience stores

This report can be used at the state and local level to draw attention to the tobacco problem in general, but particularly to the role that convenience stores and other retailers play in it and the way that tobacco companies use them to market their products and oppose policy change. If you are working on funding for tobacco prevention, tobacco taxes, prohibiting flavored tobacco products or point-of-sale issues, the report can be useful in drawing attention to the problem and the solutions.

In this webinar, the APRC will share their recently published Environmental Scan Toolkit, and Counter Tools will share why the point of sale matters for alcohol and your community. Register for the webinar here.

Counter Tools is providing training and technical assistance for tobacco prevention programs and community partners to strengthen their capacity to advance evidence-based tobacco prevention policy goals. Together with TPCB, we are providing training to diverse audiences including youth and youth-serving organizations, school resource officers, alcohol law enforcement officers, local law enforcement officers, Drug Free Communities coalition members, state and local-level tobacco prevention and control practitioners, and other local public health advocates across North Carolina. We are also engaging community partners in the development of storytelling materials that will support community mobilization efforts.

This spring, counties from the NC Public Health Regions 4 and 5 assessed their retail environment to lay the groundwork for addressing it in their communities. We are working with Mecklenburg County advocates to conduct a Health Equity Impact Assessment in the coming year.

If you are an advocate, professional, or community member living in NC and are interested in learning more about this work or getting involved, please contact Ray Riordan, Director of Local Policy and Programs, at ray.riordan@dhhs.nc.gov.

We are excited to collaborate with the TPCB and local partners to strengthen tobacco policy, systems and environmental change across North Carolina!

We often see innovative policy solutions tested first at the local-level. In this webinar, you’ll learn about alcoholic beverage regulations in Montgomery County, the sole “control” jurisdiction in the state of Maryland and one of very few jurisdictions across the country to use this model. You’ll hear about efforts at the county level in Maryland to advance policies that make the food and beverage options on restaurant kids’ meal menus healthier, with a strategy of spreading these policies throughout the state and an eye towards a state-level law.

We also highlight the City of Berkeley, California, the first city in the nation to levy a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, as well as the first in the country to pass a healthy checkout policy.

In this third webinar of the Local Control webinar series on August 22, CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance, in collaboration with Counter Tools share details about these local solutions. The three-part webinar series equips attendees with an understanding of why local policy solutions are important, lessons learned from local policy implementation efforts and innovative policy strategies built at the local-level.

View the recording:

Local Control webinar series

CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance, in collaboration with Counter Tools hosted a three-part webinar series to equip attendees with an understanding of why local policy solutions are important, lessons learned from local policy implementation efforts and innovative policy strategies built at the local-level.

Webinar 1: Building the Rationale for Local Policy Change. Speakers provided a broad rationale for local-level policy efforts and the implications for public health, as well as insight on strategies that have proven successful for local policy implementation.

Webinar 2: Using Local Momentum to Drive State and Federal Policy Change. This webinar featured leaders from the Tobacco 21 and smokefree air movements to discuss how tobacco control policy strategies at the local level helped drive policy change across the country.

Webinar 3:  Innovative Local Solutions in Public Health. The third webinar in the series covered local-level policy solutions in Maryland and California. These efforts advanced policies relating to alcohol and healthy food.

Assessing local policy change through case studies helps identify lessons learned and keys to success, which can help set the stage for state or national change. The Tobacco 21 and smokefree air movements are two examples of tobacco control policy strategies that have seen success at the local level in building support for wider initiatives.

In this second webinar of the Local Control webinar series on August 5, CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance (GHEA) and Counter Tools brought together leaders from these movements to share insights on how steadfast work at the local level helped to drive policy change across the country.

Watch the recording:

Speakers

Onjewel Smith
Southern States Strategist @American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation

Onjewel Smith has worked in the nonprofit sector for more than 20 years helping organizations and communities build their capacity for sustainable change. She has provided technical assistance on grassroots advocacy, coalition building, strategic planning, and fundraising. Throughout her career, Onjewel has helped develop strategic alliances between local coalitions, community-based organizations, stakeholders, and decision-makers. She currently serves as the Southern States Strategist to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.

Ginny Chadwick
Program Coordinator @University of Missouri

Ginny Chadwick, MPH, MA is Program Coordinator for the Missouri Eliminate Tobacco Use Initiative at the University of Missouri where she works around the state to improve tobacco policy, prevention and cessation services on college campuses and in hospital systems. Since 2013, Chadwick has worked on sales restriction laws for tobacco products. She has written ordinances and statues and contributed to the national model language. Her research includes age of sale, penalty structures, decriminalization of purchase, use and possession, and preemption of local laws. Chadwick was the legislative sponsor for one of the first Tobacco 21 policies to pass locally, and the first in her home state of Missouri. She worked across the nation at a local, state and federal level to help build coalitions, identify legislative champions and successfully pass policy. Chadwick received her MPH and MA in Journalism at the University of Missouri and is currently working on a PhD at at Brandeis University.

Local Control webinar series

CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance, in collaboration with Counter Tools hosted a three-part webinar series to equip attendees with an understanding of why local policy solutions are important, lessons learned from local policy implementation efforts and innovative policy strategies built at the local-level.

Webinar 1: Building the Rationale for Local Policy Change. Speakers provided a broad rationale for local-level policy efforts and the implications for public health, as well as insight on strategies that have proven successful for local policy implementation.

Webinar 2: Using Local Momentum to Drive State and Federal Policy Change. This webinar featured leaders from the Tobacco 21 and smokefree air movements to discuss how tobacco control policy strategies at the local level helped drive policy change across the country.

Webinar 3:  Innovative Local Solutions in Public Health. The third webinar in the series covered local-level policy solutions in Maryland and California. These efforts advanced policies relating to alcohol and healthy food.

Local governments are on the front lines of adopting laws and policies that have the potential to improve health outcomes and reduce inequities. CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance, in collaboration with Counter Tools is hosting a three-part webinar series to equip attendees with an understanding of why local policy solutions are important, lessons learned from local policy implementation efforts and innovative policy strategies built at the local-level.

This first webinar, “Building the Rationale for Local Policy Change” was on June 21st. Speakers provided a broad rationale for local-level policy efforts and the implications for public health, as well as insight on strategies that have proven successful for local policy implementation.

Watch the recording:

Download the presentation slides (PDF)

Speakers:

• Brooks Rainwater, National League of Cities

Brooks Rainwater is the senior executive and director of the National League of Cities’ (NLC) Center for City Solutions. Rainwater drives the organization’s research agenda, community engagement efforts, and leadership education programming to help city leaders create strong local economies, safe and vibrant neighborhoods, world-class infrastructure, and a sustainable environment. As an advocate for strong local leadership, Rainwater has published numerous reports and articles on innovative solutions that lead to vibrant and successful cities. He also speaks regularly across the country and overseas on issues facing city leaders. Rainwater’s recent research and interests include advancements in technology and city innovation, the sharing economy, and how the rise of state preemption is impacting local authority.

• Nestor Davidson, Fordham University School of Law

Nestor M. Davidson joined the faculty of Fordham Law School in 2011 and was named the Albert A. Walsh Chair in Real Estate, Land Use and Property Law in 2017.  Professor Davidson has published widely in the fields of state and local government law, property, and affordable housing law and policy.  Professor Davidson practiced with the firm of Latham and Watkins, focusing on commercial real estate and affordable housing, and served as Deputy General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Professor Davidson founded and is the faculty director of the Urban Law Center.

• Sara Bartel, ChangeLab Solutions

Sara Bartel is a senior attorney at ChangeLab Solutions, where her good governance portfolio covers legal authority and preemption, the policymaking process, and cross-sector partnerships for upstream community health improvements. Her work spans issues such as healthy retail, food systems, tobacco use prevention, maternal & child health, shared use, housing, and support for working families. Sara’s legal background is in health, food, and the environment, as well as civil rights litigation. Sara is based in Fort Collins, CO, where she lives with her partner and their two little kids.

Local Control webinar series

CADCA’s Geographic Health Equity Alliance, in collaboration with Counter Tools hosted a three-part webinar series to equip attendees with an understanding of why local policy solutions are important, lessons learned from local policy implementation efforts and innovative policy strategies built at the local-level.

Webinar 1: Building the Rationale for Local Policy Change. Speakers provided a broad rationale for local-level policy efforts and the implications for public health, as well as insight on strategies that have proven successful for local policy implementation.

Webinar 2: Using Local Momentum to Drive State and Federal Policy Change. This webinar featured leaders from the Tobacco 21 and smokefree air movements to discuss how tobacco control policy strategies at the local level helped drive policy change across the country.

Webinar 3:  Innovative Local Solutions in Public Health. The third webinar in the series covered local-level policy solutions in Maryland and California. These efforts advanced policies relating to alcohol and healthy food.

In community-based prevention, researchers and professionals have realized that the best solution for one community may not be the same for another. The best solution to address problems in a community often comes from the folks most heavily impacted. Laws and policies adopted at the local level are key to improving health outcomes and reducing inequities because they are community specific solutions.

An important feature of local laws is the ability to enhance the enforcement and regulatory structure for state or federal policies. When it comes to tobacco point-of-sale policies, FDA inspections and visits through the Synar program are required. However, FDA inspections and Synar program visits only cover a small sample of retailers each year. Local-level policies like local tobacco retailer licensing can require visits to all retailers in a community each year. This may assist in identifying retailers with frequent violations and enforcing stronger penalties on retailers that violate these policies.

In addition, local level policies can be adapted and tailored to be more effective at reducing disparities. For example, restricting tobacco sales in pharmacies may reduce the overall number of tobacco retailers statewide, but in some communities this type of policy may only exacerbate inequities in retailer density. This is the case when there are more pharmacies located in already advantaged neighborhoods where tobacco retailer density is lower. Another benefit to local innovations is that their success can spur statewide change. The Tobacco 21 movement is a great example of this, with many localities successfully raising the minimum legal sales age before statewide policy was enacted. The eventual passage of a federal Tobacco 21 policy can be in part attributed to momentum that began at the local level. A similar process is currently unfolding as localities across the country gain traction with comprehensive flavor bans.

Unfortunately, thanks to industry lobbying, some states use their authority to block local policy innovations. This strategy relies on the legal doctrine of preemption, which allows a higher level of government to limit or even eliminate the power of a lower level of government. Examples of preemption exist in a variety of realms that impact public health, including environmental protections, affordable housing, and regulation of alcohol or sugar-sweetened beverages. The common areas impacted by preemption in tobacco prevention and control policy work are related to youth access, smokefree indoor air and licensure. See the CDC’s STATE System Preemption Fact Sheet for a summary of the preemption status for each state in these three categories.

Starting this summer, Counter Tools and GHEA will be launching a three-part local control webinar series. The series will include guest speakers, resources, and stories of local control efforts from the fields of tobacco and alcohol control. Stay tuned for registration details coming soon!

Additional Resources

Local control and preemption within the field of tobacco prevention and control:

1. Tobacco Point of Sale Preemption Playbook (Counter Tools & ChangeLab Solutions)
2. Untangling The Preemption Doctrine in Tobacco Control (Public Health Law Center)
3. Preemption: The Biggest Challenge to Tobacco Control (Public Health Law Center)
4. Checked at the Check-Out Counter: Preemption at the Tobacco Point of Sale (Public Health Law Center)
5. State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI) (American Lung Association)
6. Protect Local Control (Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights)

This post was originally published as a feature article for The Geographic Health Equity Alliance (GHEA), a CADCA initiative. GHEA is a CDC funded National Network dedicated to reducing geographic health disparities related to tobacco and cancer. 

Presenters will also review key updates in the 2022 version of the Policy Playbook for E-cigarettes, created by the University of North Carolina’s Vaping Prevention Resource and the Public Health Law Center; provide examples of recent local e-cigarette policies in four jurisdictions; and present a wealth of educational and advocacy resources on e-cigarettes.

Thursday, March 31 at 11am CET / 12pm EDT

View the archived webinar here.

Presenters:

• Meredith Berkman, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe)
• Kurt Ribisl, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Steph Trilling, MSW, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Julie Amajuoyi, J.D. MTS, Public Health Law Center
• Kyra Hill, J.D., Public Health Law Center

Moderator:

Kerry Cork, J.D., M.A., Public Health Law Center

The Tobacco Point of Sale Preemption Playbook, a new resource from Counter Tools and ChangeLab Solutions, equips tobacco prevention staff and their partners with the knowledge, context, and resources needed to understand how preemption influences their work.

Learn more about the different forms preemption can take, key steps and legal considerations for determining local authority, and strategies communities across the country are using to make progress despite preemption at the point of sale.

Download the Playbook here