truth^® campaign focused on mental health significantly lowered e-cigarette use among young people

A truth campaign focused on the connection between vaping nicotine and mental health significantly reduced e-cigarette use among young people, according to a new study published in Tobacco Control that is the first to find an association between a national public education and prevention campaign and lowered youth e-cigarette use. The new study finds that exposure to the campaign also lowered odds of current e-cigarette use among young people, demonstrating that messaging about issues important to young people – in this case mental health – works to prevent them from vaping nicotine, building on a trove of research on the effectiveness of smoking prevention mass media campaigns.

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5 strategies to reduce geographic disparities in tobacco use

Although youth smoking prevalence has declined significantly in recent years, policies have not been implemented equally across the United States, leading to huge geographic disparities in both youth and adult smoking prevalence. Although these disparities have existed for decades, there is a clear path forward. Research shows that five key policy changes could drastically reduce smoking prevalence in 12 Midwestern and Southern states known as Tobacco Nation that spans Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

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1 key similarity between Cancer Moonshot and Tobacco Nation

In June, the White House Cancer Moonshot hosted a forum to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to tackling the largest single driver of cancer deaths in this county: smoking. One priority remains front and center: the need to eliminate the marked disparities in smoking-related morbidity and mortality. This was also highlighted in Truth Initiative's report on Tobacco Nation – a group of 12 Midwestern and Southern states where smoking prevalence is nearly 50% higher than other states.

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This week in tobacco policy news

New York City, New York – The city council passed legislation which holds commercial landlords responsible for renting storefronts to unlicensed smoke shops and requires a quarterly report on enforcement related to such unlicensed sellers. It is estimated that New York City is home to approximately 8,000 illegal, unlicensed smoke shops.
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Richfield, Minnesota - The city council passed an ordinance to prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products and eventually reduce the number of licensed tobacco retailers in the city to four.
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St. Louis County, Missouri - The county council passed a bill to prohibit smoking at county parks, in enclosed places of employment, and other public places, and limits smoking in casinos to half of any casino floor. The new bill adds marijuana to the definition of smoking and expressly bans it anywhere smoking is not allowed. The bill now heads to County Executive Sam Page for consideration.
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