241690 Addressing and Overcoming Barriers to Placing Additional Restrictions on Tobacco in a Smoke-Free Air State

Monday, October 31, 2011: 12:30 PM

Jill Roeder, BA , Healthy Behaviors Branch, Linn County Public Health, Marion, IA
     
Minimizing or eliminating exposure and access to tobacco products are proven strategies to reduce to toll tobacco use takes on individuals and on societies. In 2008 the State of Iowa passed one of the strongest statewide comprehensive clean indoor air laws in the country. In March of 2010, the State of Iowa received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the ARRA-funded Communities Putting Prevention to Work program. Linn County was one of two Iowa counties who received local funding to address tobacco control priorities.

Building upon previous successful efforts, Linn County established a goal to further protect Iowans from tobacco exposure by banning smokeless tobacco samples. What was assumed to be an easy win given prior successes, turned into a complicated and time intensive effort to address complex legal issues and to overcome resistance from tobacco fatigued legislatures that threatened to divert selected policy directions and prevent success.

Through coordination with partners and the redesign of the policy approach and strategy, on January 26th, 2011, the Linn County Board of Health approved four separate ordinances that collectively serve to ban tobacco samples and sampling in Linn County. It is anticipated that this policy will be formally approved by the Board of Supervisors in April of 2011. Presentation will discuss the challenges encountered, process steps, successful strategies and lessons learned.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Identify messaging barriers and red flags when working with elected officials. Formulate messaging strategies strictly for elected officials. Demonstrate the importance of developing a media advocacy design to achieve policy change.

Keywords: Tobacco Policy, Advocacy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am the manager of the Healthy Behaviors branch that works to identify and implement policy creating healthier environments.
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.

See more of: Burning Issues in Tobacco Policy
See more of: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs