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 the location of tobacco retailers and their proximity to youth-oriented facilities. The use of local data, education efforts, and strong political and community support helped pass these policies.
Counter Tools has partnered with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) since 2012 to help support local areas in the state in their pursuit of policy change around tobacco. MDH’s partnership with Counter Tools aims to equip and empower Minnesota’s local grantees with knowledge and data that can be incorporated into efforts around community education, awareness building, and policymaking.
In March 2019, Hennepin County Public Health (HCPH) conducted store assessments at tobacco retailers in the city of Golden Valley, utilizing Counter Tools software for data collection and mapping. HCPH used reports and community outreach to build public support, and partnered with Public Health Law Center for assessment on proposed policies.
In October 2019, Golden Valley passed a number of comprehensive tobacco prevention policies. These policies covered a broad range of prevention strategies, including raising the minimum legal sales age to 21, banning the sale of flavored tobacco products, increasing tobacco product pricing, capping the number of tobacco retailer licenses issued, increasing penalty fees for tobacco retailers, and more. In June 2020, they passed additional regulations under the city’s zoning code to restrict the location of tobacco retailers and their proximity to youth-oriented facilities.
The use of local data, education efforts, and strong political and community support helped pass these policies. Policy successes, supported by data, can be used as a mechanism to reduce exposure and access to tobacco especially for those most at-risk like youth.
Read the full success story here.
Our partners have achieved great successes in public health. We recognize their hard work and leadership in creating healthier communities. We hope these stories inspire your work around place-based public health. View more Success Stories on Our Impact page.
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