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 [More]
New FTC reports show the tobacco industry continues to focus on point of sale marketing
New reports from the Federal Trade Commission show that in 2019 the tobacco industry spent nearly $6.6 billion marketing and promoting cigarettes and smokeless tobacco at the point of sale. Figures from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Reports on Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco Sales and Marketing Expenditures [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 [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 [More]
Strategies for achieving health equity in COVID-19 vaccinations
April is National Minority Health Month and the theme this year from the National Institute of Minority Health (NIMH) is Vaccine Ready. We know that COVID-19 affects communities of color disproportionately, and vaccination is an important tool to protect vulnerable communities by preventing hospitalization and death. With [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) [More]
Addressing Health Disparities Through Alcohol Outlet Density
There are many ways the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our daily lives. One of many interesting public health observations is the impact of the pandemic on alcohol consumption. Thanks in part to many bars and restaurants being closed at some point during the last year, off-premise alcohol [More]
Counter Tobacco Podcast: Equitable Enforcement in Commercial Tobacco Control Policy (Episode 24)
In this episode, we talk with Natasha Phelps, a Lead Senior Staff Attorney at the Public Health Law Center, about the recent statement on “Decriminalizing Commercial Tobacco: Addressing Systemic Racism in the Enforcement of Commercial Tobacco Control” that was released last year by a consortium of public [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 [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: [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 [More]
Key Components of a Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program
Limiting the availability of products like tobacco helps protect those most vulnerable and improves the health of all. Here are some key considerations for implementing a comprehensive tobacco control program. Tobacco prevention and control work is a key part of public health. We know that tobacco use [More]
Building Healthy Communities Through the Retail Environment
The retail environment provides many of the products that result in unhealthy behaviors such as tobacco use, poor nutrition, and excessive alcohol use. How can we create a retail environment where the healthy choice is the easy choice? Some important strategies involve addressing the availability, promotion 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 [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 [More]
Upcoming webinar: Equitable enforcement in commercial tobacco control
Counter Tools is partnering with The Center for Black Health & Equity and ChangeLab Solutions to discuss how local and state partners can advance equitable enforcement practices in commercial tobacco control. Join us on Tuesday, February 9, at 2:00 pm ET / 11:00 am PT to learn [More]
Counter Tobacco Podcast: The Tobacco Control Vaccine Booster (Episode 23)
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Amanda Kong, one of the authors of a recent paper “Boosting the Tobacco Control Vaccine: recognizing the role of the retail environment in addressing tobacco use and disparities.” We discuss how key retail strategies, including addressing product availability, pricing and [More]
Meet our staff: Beth Turner, Business Manager
Beth Turner is Business Manager at Counter Tools. Beth has worked in the nonprofit sector for years and is passionate about health equity and volunteering in her community. Learn more about Beth’s background in her staff profile below. Tell us a little bit about your background before [More]
Reflecting on health equity and our work in 2020
2020 was a challenging year and inspired us to rethink our understanding of inequities, strive to learn more, and be better. In this post we look back at a year focused on health equity and celebrate new partnerships. 2020 was an opportunity for many of us to [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 [More]
