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programs
*based on productivity loss and healthcare costs associated with tobacco use.
policy
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Want to review WV specific policy? Click here.
Definition: governing principle or plan; any rule, regulation or law that applies to many people.
Why are policy initiatives important in tobacco prevention?
Policy is the most effective way of changing behavior and impacting communications. We can usually reach lots of people, and impact behavior change, at very little cost.
Policy at different levels:
A. Local Government
city ordinances, passed by a city council (example: a city ordinance banning tobacco ads on city property).
county regulations, passed by county commissions, county Boards of Health or other local boards (example: county Boards of Health passing Clean Indoor Air regulations).
B. State Government
The WV Legislature passing a bill/legislation that becomes law (example: a bill to increase the state excise tax on cigarettes and other tobacco).
WV state agencies that must have rules and regulations passed by the Legislature to detail how the law will be administered (example: The WV Department of Education regulation about no tobacco use on school property).
Other state agency policy that the administration determines the need for (example: the Public Employees’ Insurance Agency policy to charge a higher premium for tobacco users).
C. Federal Government
Synar Regulations
Federal Trade Commission Truth in Labeling Act
D. International Policy
Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, developed by the World Health Organization
E. Voluntary Policy
Businesses may adopt workplace smoking bans that may be more restrictive than local CIA regulations.
Private homes or organizations may set rules to prohibit smoking or tobacco use.
How can I get involved in policy change? Think about these areas of interest:
How can I get a rule passed that stops the scout leader from smoking at our meetings?
How can I make my house smoke-free?
How can I help enforce our
How can I get my office to be completely smoke-free?
How can I get a rule adopted that makes our local swimming pool smoke-free?
How can I help get the cigarette tax higher?
How can I ensure the restrooms at my daughter’s school are smoke-free?
Should my child’s daycare be smoke-free?
How can I persuade my favorite restaurant to go smoke-free?
Advice on getting involved in Policy change:
1. Do your research:
· What are the current laws or rules? Call the WV DTP for information.
· Will a policy change really be the solution? Think it through.
· If a policy will help, how should it be written? Are there examples for me to use?
· Will there be any costs with this policy change?
2. Who is the person or group that can make or approve the policy change?
3. Are there others that I should join with to show more support for this policy change?
4. Should we communicate with those who will be affected to explain the benefits of this policy?
5. Should we consider a phase-in policy-making one change now and building into the policy a change in the future that folks can count on?
Ideas for school projects (elementary, secondary, college) involving tobacco prevention policy:
- Why hasn’t the
- How are states using their tobacco settlement dollars?
- How much money could we save in children’s health care costs if children were completely protected from secondhand smoke?
- Why do I have to breathe my neighbor’s smoke in my smoke-free apartment?
- What is Smoker’s
- Suing for a smoke-free area: How successful are these lawsuits?
- The Americans with Disabilities Act and Secondhand smoke?
- What is cotinine and how it is used to measure the effect of smoking?
- How is the tobacco industry targeting college students?
- What are low-ignition cigarettes and how will this prevent fire deaths?
- How is the average cigarette made-not like you think!
- How do I research tobacco industry documents? What will I find?
- Can parental smoking affect decisions in child custody cases?
