Other Policy

Reports

Tobacco Retailer Licensing Day of Action turn-key kit
Organizing an annual Tobacco Retail Licensing (TRL) Statewide Day of Action can provide an opportunity for youth to get involved in reducing illegal tobacco sales to minors in their local communities. Day of Action activities also educate teens and the community on youth access to tobacco issues, while connecting youth advocates from across the state. A Turn-Key Kit for anyone interested in organizing such activities was developed by the California Youth Advocacy Network (CYAN), a California-based organization, but can be used in other states/localities to assist youth and adults in raising awareness about tobacco sales to minors and the need for regulation of the tobacco retail environment. Click here to access this kit.

Report shows majority of states not measuring up on laws and policies to fight cancer
A new report released by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS-CAN) discusses the lack of state policies and legislative actions to prevent and fight cancer. “How Do You Measure Up” is a document created ten years ago by ACS-CAN that provides specific policy actions that state legislatures can take to help prevent cancer. This new report, titled “How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality,” discusses the lack of action by states in the past ten years on these issues. Thirty-two states have reached benchmarks in only two of the seven priority areas of legislation, and only 2 states have met five benchmarks measured by ACS-CAN. The ACS-CAN has outlined several legislative actions to help reduce cancer such as comprehensive smoke-free laws, tobacco prevention program funding, and increased tobacco taxes. According to the report, states’ failure to implement these actions leads to a loss of lives as well as a loss in state revenue. Click here to read more and to access the full report.

"Staying Well – Real Stories from the Prevention and Public Health Fund"
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network has released a new report titled “Staying Well – Real Stories from the Prevention and Public Health Fund.” The report is an educational tool that contains information on how the Prevention Fund has created new evidence-based programs that help to control the obesity epidemic, reduce tobacco use, increase mammograms, fight health disparities that disproportionately impact low-income Americans, and fill gaps in America’s healthcare workforce. There are programs in fifty states and dozens of communities across the country. Click here to access the report.

2012 Save Lives and Money: Help People on Medicaid Quit Tobacco
Health organizations Partnership for Prevention and the American Lung Association have announced the release of the 2012 report on Medicaid tobacco cessation services for smokers. The report highlights substantial evidence supporting both an increase in positive health outcomes and a high return on investment for comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment. Six states have emerged as leaders in offering comprehensive tobacco cessation benefits to Medicaid recipients, and these states are spotlighted along with coverage information for all fifty states. The report issues a call for action for states to provide Medicaid recipients the help they need to quit tobacco in order to save lives and lower healthcare costs. Click here to access the report, and to learn more about expanding Medicaid benefits for smokers.

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State Policy

Law restricting internet tobacco sales goes into effect (AZ)
A new law in effect in Arizona prohibits the sale of most tobacco products over the internet, and requires a face-to-face interaction between tobacco retailers and consumers. Those purchasing tobacco products any way other than via a face-to-face interaction will be charged with a Class 6 felony and a civil penalty of up to $5,000. Products exempt from this law are pipe tobacco and cigars since they do not require a stamp that proves that the retailer has complied with the state’s luxury tax laws. Arizona’s Attorney General Tom Horne states that eliminating the sale of tobacco products online helps reduce the chances of children purchasing these products as there are currently limited restrictions in place to protect them. Click here to read more about this new law, or click here for a fact sheet on the legislation, SB 1280.

Flavored tobacco wraps outlawed in Illinois (IL)
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has signed a new law that restricts the sale of flavored tobacco wrapping papers. The law is effective immediately and bans the sale of cigarette papers, blunt wraps, and cigar wraps that contain flavors other than menthol. While federal laws ban flavored cigarettes, rolling papers with grape, chocolate, and vanilla (among others) flavors have remained on the market for sale, and health advocates believe that these products are marketed to children and young adults. Fines for retailers breaking this law start at $100. As with many laws of this nature, enforcement is essential in order to be effective. Click here to read more.

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National Policy

Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use: An opportunity to make tobacco cessation treatment a standard practice
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have released final requirements for Stage 2 Electronic Health Records Incentive programs. The rules specify the Stage 2 criteria that eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) must meet in order to continue to participate in the EHR Incentive Programs. The standards require that by 2014, more than 80% of all patients seen by an eligible provider or admitted to an eligible hospital will have their smoking status recorded. Click here to view the regulation from CMS, or click here to view the regulations from ONC. Fact sheets are available on CMS’s final rule and ONC's standards and certification criteria final rule. Additionally, Rob Adsit (University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention) was kind enough to search for and collect the pages in the final rule (672 pages) that relate to tobacco. Click here to view these tobacco-related highlights from the final rule on the Partnership for Prevention’s ActionToQuit website, or view the companion document, “Stage 2 Meaningful Use HIT Standards.” To access other useful resources on health systems change from ActionToQuit, click here.

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International

Tobacco display ban comes into force (New Zealand)
New regulations in New Zealand require retailers to keep cigarettes out of the sight of consumers in stores. The motive behind the law was to make cigarettes less attractive by removing cigarette displays from the view of young people. Currently, tobacco products are often located in retail establishments near youth-friendly products such as sweets and candy. This law also includes a fine between $1,000 and 10,000 for selling tobacco to youth under the age of eighteen. Click here to read more on this ban.

U.S. free market group tries to halt sales of cigarettes in plain packets in UK (United Kingdom)
An organization known to be supportive of the tobacco industry, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), has launched an international lobbying campaign against policies requiring plain packaging of cigarettes. ALEC has written a letter to Australian leaders, who will implement a plain packaging policy this year, discouraging the policy and claiming the “support of 2,000 state legislators…, 101 congressional alumni, and over 250 companies and public policy associations.” ALEC is now targeting the United Kingdom, where consultations are underway on implementing a similar policy. ALEC’s communications state that plain packaging laws infringe on corporations’ right to display their brand, trademark, or logo. ALEC’s messages warn Australia and the UK of possible lawsuits as a result of passing plain packaging policies, to the dismay of health campaigners who support these policies. Click here to read more. Click here to read more about the increase in campaigns against plain packaging laws in the UK.

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