creating tobacco-free communities jeffrey willett, ph.d. vice president for programs

Creating Tobacco-Free Communities

Jeffrey Willett, Ph.D.Vice President for Programs

“Statewide efforts should include implementing evidence-based policy interventions to decrease tobacco use initiation, increase cessation, and protect people from exposure to secondhand smoke.”

“Through advocacy and education, tobacco control coalitions play a critical role in exposing the tobacco industry’s predatory marketing tactics and deceitful denials. Coalitions also help mobilize communities to develop and implement policies and programs.”

Advocacy, Education,Mobilization are the

essential activities of coalitions!

Community Change Model

Environment that Supports Strong Tobacco Control

Policies

Community Mobilization

Community Education

Advocacy with Organizational

Decision Makers

Educating Government Policymakers


Engaging influential community members and organizations to publicly support and call for actions that advance public health policies. Successful community mobilization will identify strong community champions and ensure there is broad engagement from constituents, including community leaders and organizations, to actively support public health policies.


Scalable ApproachesI. Identifying shared goals with community organizations.

II. Leveraging support of existing coalition for initiative/policy objective.

III. Establishing a coalition to focus on specific initiative/policy objective.

IV. Supporting coalition coordinators to maintain a strong infrastructure.

V. Supporting a community mobilizer to actively engage the public and key influencers.

VI. Training and supporting partners to be actively engaged in community education and advocacy with decision makers.


Community Education

• Activities that educate the public (or subsets of the public) about health issues with the intention of influencing individual opinions, beliefs and behaviors. Community education includes discrete events, earned media and paid media. Successful community education will ensure there is public support for public health policies; help mobilize the community to voice its support for policies; and help educate policy makers about the issue.

Community Education

Scalable Approaches

I. Dissemination of materials to the media.

II. Dissemination of localized/personalized materials to the media.

III. Fostering strong relationships with local reporters.

IV. Holding community events designed to garner media coverage.

V. Coordinating comprehensive earned media campaigns with involvement from a wide range of partners.

Community Education

Advocacy with Organizational Decision Makers

• Strategies to change organizations’ policies, programs, or practices. Successfully advocating with organizational decision makers will ensure that decision makers are taking meaningful, verifiable and sustainable action in support of public health policies.


Decision makers

Scalable Approaches

I. Meet with organizational decision makers to discuss policies.

II. Coordinate efforts with key partners to approach organizations as part of a team.

III. Develop issue-specific toolkits/factsheets to make the “business case.”

IV. Recruit organizational leaders to be champions for community-wide efforts.


Decision makers

Government Policy MakerEducation

• Educating local, state, regional or national policy makers about public health issues, and the implications of policy change. Successful government policy-maker education can help establish strong legislative champions and ensure that elected officials make informed decisions when they are called on. Activities must be designed to ensure that lobbying for specific legislation or regulation is expressly prohibited.


Scalable Approaches

I. Send government policymakers information about health issues.

II. Invite elected officials to speak at community events.

III. Bring youth and other stakeholders to meetings with government policymakers.

IV. Coordinate office visits with staff of voluntary organizations and partners.

V. For statewide efforts, hold “Legislative Days” to educate legislators and their staff, and garner earned media coverage.


Promoting Healthy Behaviors of Kansans: Access to Healthy Foods RFP Initiative Logic Model

STRATEGIESSHORT-TERM OUTCOMES

LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

INTERIM OUTCOMES

Increased knowledge/ awareness of coalition members•AHF and health benefits/risks•Healthy communities and the link to individual health•AHF best practices

Impact: The health of all Kansans has im

proved through access to healthy local foods.

Increased consumption of healthy local foods among individuals in targeted communities

Increased awareness among policy/ decision makers regarding AHF policies and practices

Sustained effective leadership around access to healthy local foods

Increased ability of coalitions to form and cultivate partnerships with community stakeholders including schools, workplaces etc., that support AHF

Community norms support healthy behaviors and environments

Identify, fund and support

implementation of best practices

promoting access to healthy foods.

Design AHF RFP using evidence based/best practices

Distribute RFP widely to communities throughout Kansas

Communicate purpose of the AHF grant and best practices in AHF through two-day RFP conference

Select the strongest proposals through a systematic review process

Provide technical assistance to grantees around coalition building/planning/ evaluation and leadership development throughout grant period. Focus of TA will be around AHF policies and practices that facilitate healthy eating

Support creation of, and activities implemented by, statewide advisory group

Policies and/or practices are implemented in grantee communities that facilitate AHF

Increased community knowledge about AHF

Increased champions within community among influencers/ policymakers/ decision makers

Increased motivation and opportunities for evidence-supported healthy local food policy within community

Increased effectiveness of coalitions/communities at advocating for AHF policies.

Increased resources dedicated within community to implementing AHF practices and policies

Increased community support and involvement in improving access to healthy foods

Revised by Innovation Network 3/9/11

Strengthening of coalition/local leadership team: increased skills, collaboration and leadership within coalitions to advocate for AHF policies

Increased # and types of key players in coalition – including unlikely suspects



LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

INTERIM OUTCOMES































LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

INTERIM OUTCOMES




























Community Education



LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

INTERIM OUTCOMES




















Increased champions within community among influencers/ policy makers/ decision makers









Decision makers




LONG-TERM OUTCOMES

INTERIM OUTCOMES




















Increased champions within community among influencers/ policy makers/ decision makers









Community Education


Decision Makers Educating

Government Policymakers


Access to Healthy Foods

Tobacco Control

Community Design

Physical Activity


Community Education


Decision makers


Healthy Communities Round 2

Example tobacco control strategies:

•Reducing youth exposure to pro-tobacco marketing where they shop. •Using zoning or local tobacco permits to limit the density of tobacco retailers. •Implementing tobacco-free policies, regulations and laws that protect non-smokers and children who reside in multi-unit housing. •Implementing tobacco-free policies, regulations and laws for public parks and playgrounds.

In 2010, tobacco companies spent $8.5 billion nationally on marketing.

90% of tobacco marketing goes to the retail environment. Retail tobacco marketing includes paying retailers to prominently display tobacco products, in-store advertising, price discounts and other in-store promotions.

Stores are the main channel of communication for tobacco companies to reach new and current customers.

Studies have identified a clear link between retail tobacco marketing and youth smoking behaviors.

There are apparent discrepancies between self-reported youth purchase behaviors and retail sales to minor compliance data.

Tobacco companies pay retailers to put their products in the most visible location in the store: at the point of sale where they are prominently displayed.

Contracts with retailers give the tobacco industry direct control over how products are displayed and promoted at the point of sale.

Source: Kansas Youth Tobacco Survey

Preventing litter and pollution Discarded cigarette butts constitute the majority of litter on beaches, parks,

playgrounds, and sidewalks. The need to substantially reduce litter (and associated clean-up costs) is a major reason cited by supporters of tobacco-free outdoor policies.

Cigarette filters are not 100 percent biodegradable. As filters break down, they leach toxic chemicals into the ground that can seep into waterways, polluting water sources and poisoning wildlife.

Keeping children safe Children exposed to even small amounts of secondhand smoke are at a heightened risk

for adverse health effects. Many people erroneously believe that it is not possible to be exposed to dangerous concentrations of secondhand smoke in outdoor areas. The truth is that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure, and there is growing evidence that secondhand smoke outdoors can reach concentrations found in indoor areas.

Discarded cigarette butts contain concentrated levels of carcinogens as well as nicotine which can be poisonous when ingested by children.

Role-modeling Prohibiting tobacco use in outdoor places frequented by the public reduces the

perception by young children that tobacco use is a common, acceptable, and desirable adult behavior.

Winfield – City Code• (b) Prohibition of smoking in public places. Smoking shall be prohibited in all enclosed public

places, unless otherwise set out herein, within the City of Winfield, including, but not limited to, the following places:

– (10) Sports arenas and convention halls, including bowling facilities, sports complexes, outdoor play facilities, parks and football stadiums. Outdoor facilities shall be non smoking, as posted.

– (13) Lobbies, hallways, and other common areas in apartment buildings, condominiums, common areas in trailer parks (club houses, storm shelters), retirement facilities, nursing homes, and other multiple-unit residential facilities.

– (16) Outside of any of the above within ten feet of all entrances, exits and ventilation system air intake mechanisms.


Essential partners to engage for ANY tobacco control initiative:

– Youth and organizations that represent youth.– KDHE Chronic Disease Risk Reduction grantees– Representatives from Heart, Lung and Cancer– Tobacco-Free Kansas Coalition– Tenants – for smoke-free housing initiatives– Build upon these essential partners.– Ensure they are ACTIVELY engaged.


Community Education


Decision Makers

31

Local statistics

Not lobbying

The toll of tobacco on

the community

Not lobbying

Real-life stories that personalize the issue

Not lobbying

Your coalition and similar

activities across the state /

nationNot lobbying

Specific legislative action that

would make you happyLobbying!!


How state & federal money is being spent on tobacco control

Not lobbying

Actions that community champions are taking

Not lobbying



Community Education


Decision makers


Thank you

creating tobacco-free communities jeffrey willett, ph.d. vice president for programs

Documents

community organizations

community events

community leaders

community mobilizer

successful community

strong community champions

communitywide efforts

public support