The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #60719

Valerie B. Yerger, MA, ND, Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education, University of California, San Francisco, Box 1390, San Francisco, CA 94143-1390, (415) 476-2784, valyer@itsa.ucsf.edu and Ruth E. Malone, RN, PhD, Dept. of Social & Behavioral Sciences and Center for Tobacco Control Research & Education, University of California, San Francisco, Box 1390, San Francisco, CA 94143-1390.

Holding the tobacco industry accountable for its behavior can change perspectives on tobacco use. Tobacco control advocates may be able to use tobacco documents not only to expose industry practices, but to affect individual attitudes surrounding tobacco use and to effect change at the community level. Communities that are burdened by low socioeconomic status and disproportionate targeting by the tobacco industry could benefit especially from using the documents as part of a community-based intervention. We will present a case study of work in which we are using tobacco documents to build community capacity and increase tobacco control efforts in a marginalized community. We will describe and demonstrate strategies for locating, selecting, and disseminating information from tobacco industry documents with different populations, for different advocacy purposes, and in different venues. Funding: National Cancer Institute (CA87472); California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (11BT-1701).

Learning Objectives:

• Learning objectives: At the end of this session, participants will:
• 1. Demonstrate skills for searching for and retrieving tobacco industry documents that could aid various advocacy activities
• 2. Discuss potential uses of industry documents for advocacy activities
• 3. Consider ways that tobacco control advocates can join other community activists to address the overall health of a community.

Keywords: Advocacy, Tobacco Industry

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.