North Carolina’s Health Equity Impact Assessment reports
The Mecklenburg County Public Health (North Carolina) Tobacco Prevention and Control Team partnered with Counter Tools to publish a Health Equity Impact Assessment report that examines the implications of tobacco retail policies in North Carolina, specifically Tobacco 21 and a tobacco retail permitting system. The report was developed through a health equity framework with a [More]
Delaying the rules to end menthol cigarettes will continue to cost lives
Yesterday the Biden administration announced that it will delay issuing the rules to eliminate menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars until March 2024 at the earliest. Nearly two years ago, the FDA announced a proposed rule to prohibit menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes, as well as prohibit menthol and all other characterizing flavors in [More]
Building healthier communities for all to reduce cancer risk
Researchers continue to uncover how health behaviors– like diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption, and tobacco use– can be risk factors for certain cancers. In fact, one recent study estimates nearly half of all cancer deaths are associated with these potentially modifiable risk factors. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends a healthy eating pattern, regular physical [More]
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Client-Partner Feedback Survey
Our mission at Counter Tools is to empower communities to become healthier places for all. We are asking for feedback from our client-partners on ways we can, in service to our mission, better support statewide and local-level goals related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. The survey results will both help us improve our current offerings [More]
Healthy Active Communities Virtual Conference Sept 14-15
Counter Tools staff will be presenting at the Healthy Active Communities Conference September 14-15. HACC will be a place to learn about policies & systems changes related to health equity & nutrition security with a weight-inclusive lens. Healthy Active Communities sets out to explore and expand conversations around the impacts of policy and systems change [More]
Creating tobacco control policies that work toward health equity
Tobacco control policies must be formulated and examined with health equity at the forefront to directly address health inequities among Black Americans and other marginalized communities. Even the best intentioned tobacco product regulation policies may reinforce racism and the inequitable impact on marginalized communities. We must create more effective policies at both the federal and [More]
An update to the Counter Tools mission
We recently updated our mission statement to the following: We empower communities to become healthier places for all. Our mission for the past ten years has guided us to support our partners as they work to improve the health of their communities. We know that the places where people live, work, learn, and play greatly [More]
Protecting Local Authority to Adopt Local Solutions
Laws and policies adopted at the local level are tailored to their communities, improving health outcomes and reducing inequities. Local laws also complement state or federal policies and provide greater coverage for enforcement inspections of retailers. Preemption laws from a higher level of government can create challenges for local policy innovations and are a key consideration [More]
How innovative technology aided public health during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic invited technology innovation in order to help keep the public updated, and inform scientists, leaders, and public health departments as information changed rapidly and more people were affected. Health departments working with academia and the private sector built useful tools to share information and guide responses to the pandemic. Existing health disparities [More]
Addressing the Off-Campus Tobacco Retail Environment to Enhance Tobacco Free Colleges
Colleges and universities across the country have had success in using policy to protect students from exposure to secondhand smoke on campus. However, these policies do not address the tobacco retail environment immediately off-campus. Considering the off-campus retail environment in tobacco control efforts can be the perfect next step to further protecting the health of college [More]
CDC awards $300 million in funding to community health workers across the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced the awardees for more than $300 million in funding to support community health worker (CHW) services. CHWs are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of the community they serve and support populations at high risk and those hit hardest by COVID-19. Funding will [More]
LGBTQ+ health disparities and targeting by Big Tobacco and Alcohol
For years, the tobacco industry has come under fire for targeting their marketing to specific groups, such as youth and people of color. We don’t often talk enough about members of the LGBTQ+ community being targeted by the tobacco and alcohol industries. These industry strategies contribute to health disparities experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals and highlight [More]
Ensuring affordable healthy food – USDA adds 25% increase to SNAP benefits
A new edition of the Thrifty Food Plan adds a significant increase to SNAP benefits for low-income families. This is the first time in decades that the focus was not on maintaining costs but on creating a healthy, practical diet with food choices that are more realistic of a family’s needs and reflect the diverse [More]
Evictions are a public health crisis that needs to be addressed
Update August 26: The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the recent order extending the federal eviction moratorium The CDC issued a new eviction moratorium order to prevent further spread of COVID-19. The looming evictions for people who have not been able to pay rent are a public health crisis that may disproportionately affect people of [More]
Making our work more accessible and inclusive in our strive towards equity
For people with disabilities, barriers can make it difficult to function in day to day life. We recognize that being more inclusive is strongly tied to our stance on equity, diversity and inclusion. Over the past year we have been assessing our software tools and websites and implementing changes that improve accessibility. Our work focuses [More]
A call for UNC – and all of us – to learn from our mistakes
As a nonprofit organization that was born out of the Gillings School of Public Health at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, our team has strong Tar Heel roots. Our co-founders Drs. Allison Myers and Kurt Ribisl brought their vision for supporting tobacco point of sale policy change to life while teaching and studying [More]
New Minority Health SVI data available from the CDC and OMH
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (DHHS OMH) have launched a new Minority Health Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how the social determinants of health directly impact the health of communities. Unsafe or unstable housing, income insecurity, lack [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]
Healthy POS Webinar Series: Alcohol at the POS – Places, Promotions, and Problems
We hosted a webinar in our "Healthy POS Webinar Series" on Thursday, June 17 at 11am EST. Our guest speaker was Dr. Pamela Trangenstein, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Behavior, UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health; and a leading alcohol researcher. The advertising and selling of alcohol products at alcohol outlets (e.g., [More]
A Moment of victory: FDA moves to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars
The Biden Administration’s announcement yesterday that the FDA will take action to prohibit menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars is a long-awaited victory that will advance health equity and protect health for all, especially for Black Americans and kids. We celebrate the originators of this movement and those who have been persistent in this long fight [More]
