Turning up the heat: Using qualitative data to identify resistance to local tobacco control policy change

Issues: The NY Tobacco Control Program's community contractors educate local policymakers about the need for local policies to (1) reduce tobacco industry marketing at the Point-of-Sale (POS) and (2) decrease outdoor tobacco use (TFO) in public places such as beaches, parks, and building entryways (TFO). Description: 676 county-level NY policy-makers participated in a telephone survey that included questions about their level of support for tobacco control policies focused on the POS and outdoor public places. Participants who did not support a policy were asked to describe why, and we conducted qualitative analyses of their responses. Lessons Learned: As expected, numerous policymakers had concerns about government overreach. For the POS policies, there was concern about the negative impact on business and fear of corruption if the number of tobacco licenses in a community was limited. For TFO policies, participants were not convinced that secondhand smoke exposure outdoors was dangerous and had concerns about policy enforcement. Recommendations: Including open text questions in surveys of policymakers can provide state tobacco control programs with information to counter previously unanticipated resistance to policies. For example, our participants expressed concerns about how a municipality would implement a cap on the number of tobacco retailers in a community and about the feasibility of enforcing TFO laws. Further, they thought litter reduction was a far more compelling argument for TFO laws than reducing exposure to secondhand smoke. These responses can be used to modify program messages and proposed policy solutions to address policymaker concerns.