Smoke signals? Using GIS in tobacco control

In August 2010, the City of Pasadena Public Health Department Tobacco Control Program was funded by a grant from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Project TRUST is a part of the American Recovery Reinvestment of 2009/Centers for Disease Control & Prevention “Communities Putting Prevention to Work Initiative,” that was focused on decreasing the amount of tobacco advertising in the community. In January 2011, Pasadena Project TRUST staff conducted an observational survey of point-of-sale advertising of 138 Pasadena tobacco retailers. Ads were assessed at the storefront, interior, and exterior of retailers. This information was tabulated and geocoded in MS Excel then analyzed using ARCView and IMAP Geographic Information System (GIS) programs, to compare the amount and placement of tobacco advertising in retail stores citywide and in minority neighborhoods. The project also looked at advertising near schools, and geographic density of tobacco retailers. The findings will reflect data from 97% of all tobacco retailers observed within city boundaries. GIS has proven to be an integral part of local planning assessment, providing visual data to better understand and determine what tobacco control interventions are needed to further reduce tobacco advertising in the community. Presenters will identify additional uses of this system in supporting other tobacco control work and policy development initiatives. Participants will learn the value to using such geographic technology to enhance their tobacco control assessment and planning efforts, especially around compliance of tobacco-related laws and legislation.