Meet our staff: Elizabeth Gerndt, Project Director
Elizabeth Gerndt is a Project Director at Counter Tools and is passionate about healthy eating and active living. Learn more about Elizabeth’s background in her staff profile below. Tell us a little bit about your background before you came to Counter Tools. After finishing undergrad at Clemson, [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 [More]
Counter Tobacco Podcast: Point-of-Sale Pricing Policies (Episode 27)
In this episode we talk about point-of-sale pricing policies, meaning ways to raise the price of tobacco sold in retail stores. Raising prices is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use initiation, decrease consumption, and increase cessation. Learn how point-of-sale pricing policies, including minimum [More]
Welcome to our new board members
We are excited to introduce our three new members to join the Counter Tools board of directors. Please join us in welcoming Jabari, Malembe, and Mischael to the Counter Tools team. Our newest board members bring diverse place-based public health experience and their dedication to achieving health [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 [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 [More]
Meet our Board: Megan Jacobs, Board Chair
Megan Jacobs is the Board Chair at Counter Tools and the managing director of product in the Innovations center at Truth Initiative. Megan has a long history of architecting products to inspire healthy behavior change. Learn more about Megan’s background and what draws her to Counter Tools' [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 [More]
2020 sees increase in cigarette sales and tobacco advertising
The Covid-19 pandemic caused businesses across the world to think critically about their spending. While many industries saw major cuts to their budgets in 2020, interestingly, recent data from the Federal Trade Commission report reveals that advertising and promotion of cigarettes increased from $7.62 billion in 2019 [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 [More]
FDA rejects most flavored e-cigarette products, with critical decisions yet to be made
The FDA recently issued marketing denial orders on thousands of tobacco products, but applications for the biggest e-cigarette brands are still under review. The FDA was ordered by a federal court to take action by September 9th on applications for approval of tobacco products that were not [More]
Counter Tobacco Podcast: Nicotine Pouches and Other “Modern” Oral Nicotine Products (Episode 26)
In this quick primer of an episode, we talk about nicotine pouches like “Zyn” and other so-called “modern” oral nicotine products, how they are being marketed and sold in the retail environment, and options for regulating this small but rapidly growing product segment with concerns about youth [More]
Lessons from tobacco control for cannabis policy
The majority of Americans live in a state where cannabis is legal and marijuana has been decriminalized, while a growing number of states have legalized recreational marijuana. Here are a few lessons we can learn from past tobacco control challenges and successes to build a more equitable, [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 [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 [More]
2020 Census Data show a more racially and ethnically diverse population
The overall racial and ethnic diversity of the country has increased since 2010, and the number of people who identify as multiracial increased significantly. We use census data in our data collection and mapping tools to help states identify disparities in tobacco and alcohol retailer density and [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 [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 [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 [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 [More]
