Boards of Health Working Towards Social Justice through Strong Tobacco Control Policies

Tobacco control has been a priority focus area for public health advocates over the past 20 years. Because of the work these advocates have done, there are tobacco control policies nationwide in a variety of venues including statewide, countywide, citywide, and community-specific areas. The types of policies in these places range from clean indoor air to youth access restrictions to smoke-free outdoor spaces to prohibitions on the sale of products. While many laws are implemented by legislators and/or commissions and councils, there is another entity that has had strong success in implementing the aforementioned tobacco control policies, local boards of health. Boards of health are governing bodies responsible for protecting the health and well-being of all individuals in a community. There are over 3,200 boards of health nationwide representing approximately 20,000 individuals. This presentation will focus on describing how a board of health is structured, as well as the legal authority of the board of health to advocate or implement tobacco control policies. Participants will also learn what tobacco control policies boards of health have implemented and how the board is revisiting the tobacco control issue and developing policies to address emerging issues such as hookah lounges. Finally, participants will have the opportunity to directly interact with the presenter to develop key communication messages for local public health professionals to use when working with the board of health on any tobacco control policy.