We’re partnering with North Carolina in new ways
We are excited to partner with the North Carolina Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch (TPCB) and two tobacco control regions of the state to address health equity through tobacco policy change! 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 [More]
Webinar – Innovative Local Solutions in Public Health
We recently hosted a webinar with CADCA GHEA about local-level policy solutions in Maryland and California. These efforts advanced policies relating to alcohol and healthy food. 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 [More]
Webinar – 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. 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 [More]
Webinar – Building the rationale for local policy change
We recently hosted a webinar with CADCA GHEA about why local-level policy efforts matter for for public health and shared strategies that have proven successful for local policy implementation. 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 [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]
Webinar – Changing the Game Redux: An Updated Playbook for E-cigarette Regulation at the State and Local Level
Despite public health concerns about the prevalence of e-cigarette use – especially among youth and young adults – the U.S. e-cigarette market continues to thrive. Addressing this rapidly changing market requires coordinated and evidence-based policy at local, state, and federal levels. This webinar features experts in public health law, policy, and advocacy who will describe [More]
Tobacco Point of Sale Preemption Playbook
Local governments often lead the way in adopting laws and policies aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing inequities, including point-of-sale commercial tobacco control policies. However, state preemption can thwart local efforts to adopt laws and policies that protect public health and advance health equity. The Tobacco Point of Sale Preemption Playbook, a new resource [More]
Report: Surveying How the Tobacco Industry Markets Flavors in Five Midwestern Cities
A report from Counter Tools and Truth Initiative examines how flavored tobacco products are marketed and sold in 5 U.S. cities, with new data looking specifically at e-cigarette products. Download Materials Summary report: Surveying How the Tobacco Industry Markets Flavors in Five Midwestern Cities Full report and fSTARS form: Retail Store Assessments for Flavored Tobacco Products: [More]
Congrats to our partners on their 2021 accomplishments!
Despite the challenges that 2021 brought, our public health partners remained committed to building healthier, more equitable communities. We’d like to recognize our partners for the following accomplishments in 2021: Arizona Office of the Attorney General reinitiated tobacco enforcement inspections this year using the Tobacco Enforcement System (TES), created out of Arizona’s partnership with Counter [More]
Webinar with GHEA – Using Policy Surveillance Methods for K-12 Tobacco-free School Policies
We're excited to announce an upcoming webinar with CADCA's Geographic Health Equity Alliance. This webinar will review key takeaways found by the Geographic Surveillance Learning Collaborative on tobacco policy surveillance. The webinar is part of the Surveillance & Evaluation Webinar Series, which is hosted by the CDC Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). Date: Tuesday, [More]
We’re excited to partner with Community Advocates!
Counter Tools recently began a new partnership with Community Advocates Public Policy Institute, an organization based in Milwaukee, WI. We will be helping them assess tobacco and alcohol retailers in their community to understand how harmful products are being marketed and sold. Community Advocates’ primary mission is to ensure that low-income families and individuals in [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]
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]
Webinar with GHEA on Cancer, Obesity and Place
GHEA partnered with Counter Tools to present “Cancer, Obesity and Place” on Friday, June 25, from 1-2 pm EDT. Research has clearly shown that obesity is a risk factor for a wide variety of negative health outcomes, including several types of cancer. It is no coincidence that we see geographic trends in obesity prevalence. This [More]
We’re thrilled to partner with New Jersey!
We’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with the New Jersey Prevention Network. Counter Tools will be providing training and technical assistance for tobacco prevention programs on point-of-sale tobacco work - sharing knowledge on tobacco industry tactics, milestones in public health prevention and control efforts, policy options, and case studies of successful policy. We’ll also [More]
Announcing the 2021 Geographic Surveillance Learning Collaborative
The Geographic Health Equity Alliance and Counter Tools are excited to announce the second annual Geographic Surveillance Learning Collaborative for National Comprehensive Cancer Control and National Tobacco Control Programs. In this learning collaborative, teams from six participating states will each work on a project designed to build competence in the areas of mapping policies (i.e., legal mapping) and communicating about geographic health disparities. Project Details [More]
Geographic Surveillance Learning Collaborative 2020 – Highlights from Tobacco Control Programs
The Geographic Health Equity Alliance (GHEA) and Counter Tools facilitated the inaugural Geographic Surveillance Learning Collaborative for National Tobacco Control Programs and National Comprehensive Cancer Control from May to September 2020. In order to participate, interested states were required to establish a three-person team consisting of a statewide representative from each of the following fields: (1) tobacco control, (2) comprehensive cancer control and [More]
Success Story: Addressing and Improving the Landscape of Food and Alcohol Products in Wisconsin
We have a new success story about our partner in Wisconsin that serves as a good example of the importance of collecting data about the retail environment, having cross-sector collaboration in efforts, and increasing access to healthy products for the betterment of population health. Counter Tools has partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services [More]
Success Story: Using Local Data to Pass Policies for Tobacco Prevention in Golden Valley, Minnesota
We have a new success story about one of our partners that serves as a great example of a local area passing strong tobacco prevention policies. In 2019, the city of Golden Valley in Hennepin County, Minnesota passed a number of comprehensive tobacco prevention policies, and in June 2020, they passed additional regulations to restrict [More]
UNC and PHLC release Policy Playbook For E-cigarettes
University of North Carolina's Vaping Prevention Resource and Public Health Law Center recently released the Policy Playbook for E-cigarettes. The Playbook provides state and local stakeholders with a framework of policies and practices to pursue, guidelines on policy implementation, case studies, and examples. As a supplement, Public Health Law Center is hosting a webinar this [More]
