Counter Tools Joins Call on UN Committee to Recommend Stronger Tobacco Control Policies
Counter Tools joins Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and 206 other signatories from 61 countries in calling on the UN Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to maintain and strengthen its call to country Parties in the Draft General Recommendation n°37 on Racial Discrimination in the enjoyment of the [More]
Youth Advocacy Against the Tobacco Industry
Youth are important in the fight against the manipulative and deceptive marketing practices of the tobacco industry! This year in 2023, youth from around the country came together in Washington D.C. to protest an industry that has long influenced them to use deadly tobacco products. During the week of May 15th, over 100 youth and [More]
Letter in Support of Rules to Prohibit Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars
Dear Senator or Representative: We write to express our strong support for proposed rules that the Food and Drug Administration has issued to prohibit the manufacture and sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. FDA’s proposals will substantially improve public health by reducing youth tobacco use, preventing tobacco-caused disease, and saving lives. We urge you [More]
Call to action on home delivery of alcohol by USPS
Counter Tools joins the American Public Health Association’s Alcohol Action Network in urging congressional action on home delivery of alcohol by the US Postal Service. By law, the US Postal Service is prohibited from shipping alcohol under U.S. Legal Code 18 § 1716. But a new bill in Congress, the United States Postal Service Shipping [More]
Letter opposing extension of menthol cigarette comment period
Dear Dr. Califf: The undersigned organizations write today to strongly oppose any extension of the comment period for the proposed rule removing menthol as a characterizing flavor. We note that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received several requests for an extension of the comment period from the tobacco industry. Our organizations note that [More]
Letter opposing extension of cigar comment period
Dear Dr. Califf: Today, we write in response to several requests the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received to extend the public comment period for the proposed rule to remove all characterizing flavors, except for tobacco, from cigars. We strongly oppose any extension of the comment period, and we urge FDA to deny any such [More]
Letter to FDA on Rules to Prohibit Menthol Cigarettes and Flavored Cigars
Dear Dr. Califf: The undersigned public health, medical, education and community organizations write to express our support for the Food and Drug Administration’s commitment to issuing proposed rules this Spring to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes and prohibit all characterizing flavors in cigars. Once issued, we urge FDA to move quickly to [More]
Letter Urging Action on Synthetic Nicotine in E-cigarettes
Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader McCarthy: We write to urge you to respond to a new and growing threat to our nation’s youth: e-cigarette manufacturers’ use of synthetic nicotine to evade Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight. E-cigarette manufacturers, including the e-cigarette brand that is most popular with [More]
Letter Opposing Bill to Exempt Some Cigars from FDA Oversight
We are writing to express our opposition to S. 438, the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2021, which would exempt some cigars, including some inexpensive, machine-made cigars, from oversight under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). To fulfill its responsibility to protect public health, the Food and [More]
Tobacco Tax Equity Act Letter of Support
Dear Senator Durbin and Senator Wyden: We are writing to express our strong support for S. 1314, the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2021, which would increase the federal excise tax on cigarettes and set federal tax rates for other tobacco products at an equivalent level. This legislation would generate substantial benefits to public health [More]
The Mobilization of Reality Check and Other Youth Groups: Fighting Tobacco Industry Lies
Our team was excited to participate again this year in Reality Check’s action and advocacy to combat the tobacco industry’s targeting of youth. This year a multi-week virtual event was held with training webinars, social media advocacy, and interactive activities geared towards youth culminating with the annual Altria shareholders meeting. Reality Check is a youth-led [More]
97 Organizations Call on Human Rights Committee to Address Menthol
This week, Counter Tools along with 96 other organizations submitted a report to the Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), an international human rights body made up of independent experts responsible for monitoring the implementation of the International Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). The [More]
Letter to Labor-HHS to fund CDC’s Social Determinants of Health program
As Congress works to draft the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations legislation for FY 2022, the 191 undersigned organizations request that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) be properly funded at $50 million for its Social Determinants [More]
Supporting our AAPI communities
Our Counter Tools team mourns the loss of the eight victims of the Georgia shootings. We stand with the Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander communities. No one should have to experience violence or live in fear because of their ethnic, cultural, national, gender, or occupational identity. Tragedies like the Georgia shootings call us to reflect [More]
Letter to FDA on Menthol Cigarettes and other Flavored Tobacco Products
The undersigned public health, medical, education and community organizations write to urge prompt action by the Food and Drug Administration to prohibit menthol cigarettes and other non-tobacco flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and cigars. The public health and medical community has long been united in calling on FDA to use its authority under the Family [More]
Improving Social Determinants of Health Act reintroduced
The Improving Social Determinants of Health Act was first introduced in July 2020. The bill was reintroduced by Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) on January 21, 2021. This legislation would empower public health departments and community organizations to act as chief health strategists in their communities and lead efforts to convene partners across sectors to build [More]
Letter to FDA on Prohibiting Menthol Cigarettes
The undersigned public health and medical organizations write to urge the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to grant the pending Citizen Petition referenced above and commence the requested rulemaking to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes. The menthol Citizen Petition was filed over seven years ago and has yet to receive a substantive [More]
Tobacco Control Enforcement for Racial Equity – A joint statement from public health organizations
This fall, Counter Tools joined a working group of public health advocates to develop a collective statement on equitable tobacco control enforcement. More than 40 public health organizations endorsed and released the statement this month, titled Tobacco Control Enforcement for Racial Equity: Decriminalizing Commercial Tobacco – Addressing Systemic Racism in the Enforcement of Commercial Tobacco [More]
Counter Tools supports the Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act
Counter Tools envisions a nation where healthy living is equitable across communities and every person has access to healthful choices. We recognize the enormous impact of food access and food security on health and well-being. As our nation struggles amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of strengthening our food and nutrition security systems continues to [More]
The Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020
Social and economic conditions such as those in housing, employment, food security, and education have a major influence on individual and community health. These conditions – often referred to as the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) – are receiving increased attention from insurance companies, hospitals, healthcare systems, and governmental agencies interested in improving health outcomes [More]
