179347 National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD): A resource for tobacco control researchers

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Regina el Arculli, MA , Director, State Cancer Legislative Database Program, National Cancer Institute Office of Government and Congressional Relations, Bethesda, MD
Elizabeth Gallotta, JD , Center for Health Policy and Legislative Analysis, The MayaTech Corporation, Silver Spring, MD
Jill Freudenwald, MA , Center for Health Policy and Legislative Analysis, The MayaTech Corporation, Silver Spring, MD
Liza Fues, JD , Center for Health Policy and Legislative Analysis, The MayaTech Corporation, Silver Spring, MD
The National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD) Program monitors trends in state legislation by analyzing and reporting laws addressing prevention and control in numerous cancer-related topics, including tobacco use and health disparities. As of January 31, 2008, the database contained nearly 6,500 records, about half of which relate to tobacco control. State policy initiatives play an integral role in preventing and controlling tobacco use in the United States. For example, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have enacted tobacco excise tax and youth access to tobacco legislation. For this reason, and to evaluate the effect of state policy mandates on the public health, information on tobacco control laws is of interest to the public health community, researchers, and many others. While other notable tobacco legislative databases exist, SCLD is often considered an authoritative source for detailed qualitative analyses of state laws. SCLD provides the contextual information necessary for understanding some policy nuances. In this presentation, we will address the means by which the SCLD program identifies, monitors, categorizes, and analyzes state tobacco legislation. We will also detail tobacco control categories included in SCLD and provide an overview of the legislation contained in these categories. An illustration of the potential uses and application of SCLD data, as well as ways in which to obtain such information, will also be provided.

Learning Objectives:
1. Explain the approach used for obtaining data for inclusion in the SCLD. 2. Define the tobacco control components of SCLD. 3. Describe the nature and extent of tobacco control-related measures in the SCLD. 4. Identify methods of accessing and using SCLD data.

Keywords: Tobacco Control, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have served as Director of the SCLD Program since 1995.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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