Archive
Tobacco Retailer Enforcement – Necessary for all Communities
by Michael Dark
Health Educator, Baltimore County Department of Health
Promising Practices Conference, Guest Blogger
Tuesday was full of a lot of great sessions to choose from. From the opening plenary to the last breakout session, there was something for everyone. The topic of biggest interest to me during the day was “Leveling the Playing Field: Enforcing Tobacco Retailer Licensing in Low SES Communities.” The presenters did an excellent job at getting the information across in an easy to understand way that still had enough data to be valuable to those who work in tobacco control.
One of the programs that was highlighted, Wisconsin Wins, is an excellent program to learn from. This program conducts retailer enforcement through advertising checks, sales checks, and compliance. Groups of adults, youth, and police are able to help enforce the tobacco regulations in Wisconsin by volunteering for this program. The biggest part of the program that I loved was the acknowledgement of retailers who are compliant with the laws. We have done something similar in my county back in Baltimore and it really helps to show the community which retailers care about their customers and are willing to follow the laws that are in place for a good reason.
Kudos to all of the programs that were highlighted during this session. Your work is invaluable! Check out each of the links below for more information on the programs that were presented:
Association for NonSmokers (Minnesota)
