US DHHS Secretary's Strategic Initiative to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has recently approved a major new tobacco control initiative on State and Community Tobacco Control Policy and Media Research to support innovative research in this area. This is the largest tobacco control research program currently supported by the federal government and has tremendous potential to inform the field of public health practice and shape future policy development and tobacco use prevention media efforts. This research will identify responses to critical unanswered questions regarding key topics in tobacco control policy and media with the goal of informing tobacco control programs and policies at the state and community level across the U.S. and beyond. Topics include exposure to secondhand smoke in homes, cars, multi-unit housing or casinos; tobacco pricing policies and industry attempts to circumvent tax increases; use of new media strategies, tools or campaigns to reduce tobacco use; or ways the tobacco industry has interfered with public health approaches to tobacco control. These cooperative agreements reflect the most cutting-edge research available on these topics by outstanding scientists in the field. This session will include presentations by some of the NCI grantees participating in this initiative who will explain the focus of their research and current plans to proactively disseminate findings, as well as a discussion of how the field can contribute to the research being conducted and disseminated to ensure maximum public health impact by preventing and reducing all forms of tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.