Counter Tools is a 501(c)(3) public health consulting organization that promotes health equity and works toward policy change in communities nationwide by providing reliable technology, accessible data analytics, and full-spectrum, tailored support. We aim to reduce the detrimental impact of substances such as tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and unhealthy food at the consumer’s primary point of exposure and access: the retail environment.

We know that place has a profound impact on the health of individuals. The spaces where we live, work, learn, and play — our homes, schools, neighborhoods, and nearby stores — determine our access to healthy living. We recognize that not every individual or community has equal access to healthy spaces and opportunities. Structural elements (e.g., racism, environmental injustice) and commercial industry targeting all impact exposure, availability, and access to healthy and unhealthy products.

At Counter Tools, our mission is to empower communities to become healthier places for all. We envision a nation where healthy living is equitable across communities and every person has access to healthful choices.

Learn more at: https://countertools.org

This stance defines how Counter Tools approaches health equity with our current partners and clients, and those we have the opportunity to work with in the future. It includes our vision and key ways we support our partners and clients in advancing health equity. 

Health equity means ensuring everyone has a fair and just opportunity to achieve their full health potential.¹ Advancing health equity requires identifying and addressing barriers that contribute to unequal health outcomes, such as limited access to healthy options, commercial industry targeting, systemic inequities like racism, and inequitable resource access like cessation services.¹ We strive to operationalize our work through a health equity lens that identifies barriers to health across populations, and recommends ways to address these barriers through policy, systems, and environmental changes.

We want to acknowledge that we are not “experts” in this work and are putting careful consideration into what we do. We are continually learning, referencing credible sources, and looking toward other organizations and entities for guidance on how to best engage partners and clients in this work.

We have given extensive thought to our approach in how to better address health equity in our support to partners and clients, and continue to prioritize this as a focus going forward.

Health equity is a core value for Counter Tools. We know that commercial industries that manufacture and market products, like tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and food, specifically target certain groups such as people of color, youth, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and low-income communities. Commercial determinants of health encompass these private sector activities and influences that positively or negatively shape health across different populations.² Commercial determinants of health are a key driver of health outcomes.²

Within our organization and with our partners and clients, we strive to address commercial determinants of health and counter commercial industry influences that contribute to health inequities. We do this by equipping our partners and clients with the education, data, products, technology, and training they need to advance health equity, and strive toward a more equitable world. 

As an organization, we can uphold the status quo or help change it. We commit to being part of the change. Change starts from within, and we are holding ourselves accountable to improve as an organization such as evaluating our organizational culture and practices. We also feel it’s vital to strengthen our external efforts to support our partners and clients in addressing health equity at the local and state level.

We work with our partners and clients to address and better understand health equity through the actions below. These are the steps we take to support our partners and clients with the resources, knowledge, and understanding necessary to further promote health equity in their efforts.

Contracting

• Before and at the start of a new contract or renewal, we talk with each client and come to an understanding on how health equity fits into their context and what can be done through contract deliverables to fulfill these aims.
• Throughout the contract period, we check in with clients to assess how effective our health equity related efforts have been and what additional opportunities may exist.

Training

• We collaborate with clients to develop health equity focused content for in-person training and webinars.
• We provide health equity and disparities-related training in tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and/or other contexts.

Resources

• We commit to sharing current research and findings on disparities and the health impacts of racism.
• We post content on our websites, CounterTobacco.org and CounterTools.org, on how different populations and groups are affected by the marketing and sale of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and other products in the retail environment.
• During and after trainings, we share health equity focused resources that relate to what was discussed.

Technology

• We provide integration of data on disparities, neighborhood characteristics, and other relevant measures in our software tools and data visualization products.

Data-Sharing

• We make sure relevant information on race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, and other aspects of diversity are included in communication materials (e.g., infographics) we create as they relate to the material content.

Advocacy

• We commit to calling out the effects of racism and seizing opportunities to publicly declare our stance on health equity. This includes providing letters of support, speaking up during external calls and webinars, and publicly advocating for groups and organizations working in this space.

Consultation

• We provide personalized consultation on topics around racism and disparities as it relates to place-based public health and the retail environment for partners and clients who desire this support.

Partnerships

• We strive to actively seek out and collaborate with local and national organizations, groups, and individuals that align with our vision and promote health equity.

Operations

• We commit to diversity and inclusion when selecting our suppliers and vendors.
• We commit to strengthening our hiring practices and diversifying our workplace when hiring additional team members in the future.

If you have any questions on this stance and/or want to learn more about our organization, email us at: [email protected]

1. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/237946151800400102
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12834347/