Healthy People Consortium Meeting
"Implementing Healthy People 2010"
November 11, 2000

Summary of Breakout Group Discussion Concerning:
Tobacco Use

1. What does implementing Healthy People 2010 mean to you?

• States and organizations sharing information and ideas.
• Communication among Federal, State, and local government and organizations.
• Creating a way for States and organizations to communicate and share what actions they are taking to implement Healthy People.
• Having Web sites and preparing tool kits and pamphlets for groups and individuals who need implementation and other ideas.
• Creating and updating tool kits and companion documents for implementing Healthy People.
• Organizations and States working together cooperatively.

2. How do you suggest we work with local community groups in implementing the Healthy People 2010 objectives?

• Get information out to local communities.
• Create and support more programs such as the "Freedom From Smoking Plan," "Quit Smoking Action Plan," "Teens Against Tobacco Use," and "Smoke Free Class of 2001 Media Plan."
• Make people aware of these programs.
• Increase prevention education programs.
• Promote local advocacy of enforcement of tobacco retail restrictions and the local clean indoor air law.
• Educate teens about smoking.
• Increase education in schools for younger age children in order to teach them not to begin to smoke.
• Endorse and advocate more counter-advertising initiatives.
• More local-level data about tobacco issues. 
• Offer more smoking cessation programs.
• Have communities adopt an objective.

3. What are the challenges/barriers to meeting the Healthy People 2010 objectives? And how do you suggest we work to overcome them?

• Communication among and between States, organizations, communities.
• Setting different targets and priorities for States and local communities.
• A lack of resources to fund surveys that provide State and local baseline estimates and followup data and lack of expertise to design questionnaires.
• Each State has different priority areas.
• A lack of government involvement and advocacy for tobacco issues.
• Use of MSA funds for non-tobacco control or public health initiatives.
• Resistance to banning smoking in restaurants and bars.
• More data and resources allocated to collecting and tracking the data.
• Parental consent barriers for surveys.
• Trouble getting tobacco control education into schools.

How do we overcome them?

• Facilitate communication between these groups. Post contact information on the Healthy People site; include information on successful programs being implemented by different States, organizations, and communities; prepare tool kits; promote information sharing by sponsoring Healthy People Consortium-type meetings at the regional and local levels.
• States and communities using Healthy People 2010 to establish priorities and use data to set specific targets and goals.
• Encourage use of State surveys like BRFSS, YRBSS, PedNSS, PNSS, etc., to set State baseline estimates; provide technical assistance to the States.
• Make sure there are ways to compare the State data to the national data.
• Get State plans and other action plans to State government and local government officials.
• Identify leaders of communities and powerful members of government to address tobacco issues and advocate action.
• Create videos and give them to State legislators.
• Identify leaders of communities and powerful health officials who can lobby for use of MSA funds for tobacco control efforts; enlist CDC to provide technical assistance to educate on the benefits of tobacco control efforts.
• Start grass roots youth and adult coalitions advocating legislation toward the ban of smoking in bars and restaurants and, in general, educate public health officials, legislators, etc., on the benefits of tobacco control.
• Rally the relevant health communities to encourage funding of surveys and surveillance systems.
• Create surveys whose data will be sorted by county not school, so they will be allowed within schools (confidentiality issues).
• Educate educators on the importance of tobacco control education, provide ready-made curriculum (perhaps a group like the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids can provide).

4. What can we do to support the elimination of health disparities among racial and ethnic population groups?

• Collect more data on all disparities including ethnic/racial groups and low SES groups.
• Have data on all groups at risk, not just the ones most at risk for tobacco use.
• Set priorities and goals differently for each group.
• Create more programs in communities to prevent at-risk groups from smoking.

5. How do we measure progress of Healthy People 2010 in the future? And what is progress?

• Use existing Federal and national data systems.
• Incorporate measures into existing surveys to provide data for developmental objectives.

6. How can we work more effectively with the media in implementing the Healthy People 2010 objectives?

• Tell media about State action plans and other tobacco plans and strategies and encourage their involvement.
• Give recognition to members of media who report on tobacco issues.
• Get more information out to local newspapers.
• More support of campaigns at national and State levels that advocate against tobacco advertising and promotions.
• Develop more community media advocacy campaigns for counter-marketing projects. West Virginia developed projects creating billboards using posters from school antismoking poster contests.

List the strategies and specific steps discussed in your group.

• Have professors and other important members of academia start talking about tobacco issues and plans for action.
• Give incentives to people to speak out.
• Give groups and organizations progress letters.
• Have communication with other countries and share strategies.
• Work with other countries to collect data.
• Create a Statewide network of local health departments.
• Have Statewide health care provider education and training about tobacco prevention and cessation.
• Create and maintain a long-term advisory commission for tobacco prevention with members from all types of areas, such as health education, faith-based organizations, businesses, and minority groups as was established in Iowa.
• Improve communication among the States so effective strategies can be shared.

Participant List

Facilitator: Karil Bialostosky 
Recorder: Mandy Edwards 

Kristen Tertzakian
ASTHO
ktertzakian@astho.org

Grace Kreulen
Michigan State University
gkreulen@msu.edu

Louise Lex
Iowa Department of Public Health
llex@idph.state.ia.us

Jennifer Weiss
West Virginia Bureau of Public Health
jenniferweiss@wvdhhs.org

Jose Corporan
Massachusetts Prevention Center
jcorporan@tmfnet.org

Ronald White
American Lung Association
rwhite@lungusadc.org

David Arday
HCFA/OCSQ
darday@hcfa.gov

Vilma Cokkinides
American Cancer Society
vcokkini@cancer.org

Tara Balsley
CDC Community Guide
tuba@cdc.gov

Teresa Daub
Dekalb County Department of Health
hdaub@gdph.state.ga.us

Dr. Jung H. Cho
Camden County Health Department
ccho@co.camden.nj.us

Karil Bialostosky
Office on Smoking and Health, CDC
kfb3@cdc.gov

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