Key Players in Tobacco Control

Federal Government

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Office on Smoking and Health (OSH)
The Office on Smoking and Health is a division within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), which is one of the centers within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

OSH is responsible for leading and coordinating strategic efforts aimed at preventing tobacco use among youth, promoting smoking cessation among youth and adults, protecting nonsmokers from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), and eliminating tobacco-related health disparities. OSH accomplishes these goals by: expanding the science base of tobacco control; building capacity to conduct tobacco control programs; communicating information to constituents and the public; and facilitating concerted action with and among partners.

OSH’s website is divided into thirteen main topic areas, which include: basic information (facts, related links), data and statistics (from CDC surveillance systems, journal articles and reports), health effects of smoking, smoking cessation (resources, materials and information), secondhand smoke (information about exposure and smoke-free initiatives), youth tobacco prevention (resources and materials), tobacco control programs (national and local), health disparities, global tobacco control, tobacco industry and products (plus links to tobacco industry documents), smokeless tobacco, media campaigns (events and resources), and publications and products.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA's mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment — air, water and land — upon which life depends. EPA provides leadership in the nation's environmental science, research, education and assessment efforts. EPA works closely with other federal agencies, state and local governments, and Indian tribes to develop and enforce regulations under existing environmental laws. The Agency also works with industries and all levels of government in a wide variety of voluntary pollution prevention programs and energy conservation efforts. One such program is the agency’s Smoke Free Homes Initiative, which encourages parents to voluntarily refrain from smoking in their homes. In addition to this program, EPA provides information and develops voluntary programs to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke. EPA’s Web page provides information on the health risks of secondhand smoke, community action and speakers’ toolkits, resources, publications and television ads.

Additional link: Indoor Air Quality Publications and Resources A listing of publications on indoor air quality – including secondhand smoke, ETS and smokefree homes.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection's mandate is to protect consumers against unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices, including advertising and marketing practices. The Bureau provides a variety of reports and publications including annual reports on tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yields of cigarettes; annual reports on cigarette sales, advertising and promotion expenditures; annual reports on smokeless tobacco; consumer information on cigars; and federal laws on labeling and advertising.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA's mission is to promote and protect public health by helping safe and effective products reach the market in a timely way and by monitoring products for continued safety after they are in use. The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) provides fact sheets, regulatory guidance, and consumer education materials for prescription and over-the-counter drugs regulated by the FDA. The Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) oversees the implementation of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

Indian Health Service (IHS)
The Indian Health Service is the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that works to assure that comprehensive, culturally acceptable personal and public health services are available and accessible to American Indian and Alaska Native people. The IHS page on Tobacco Control includes information about the six Tribal Tobacco Support Centers and tailored health education materials.

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
The National Cancer Institute coordinates the National Cancer Program, which conducts and supports research, training, health information dissemination and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer, rehabilitation from cancer, and the continuing care of cancer patients and the families of cancer patients. NCI’s Behavioral Research Program, Tobacco Control Research Branch (TCRB), is the institute’s focal point for tobacco control and prevention programs. The mission of the TCRB is to reduce cancer incidence and mortality caused by tobacco use through a comprehensive research program. To do this, TCRB provides recommendations to the scientific and public health communities by synthesizing and disseminating research findings, provides information on current research, funding opportunities, key initiatives and research findings.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
The mission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is to save lives, prevent injuries and protect the health of America's workers. To accomplish this, federal and state governments must work in partnership with the more than 100 million working men and women and their six and a half million employers who are covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. In 2001, OSHA withdrew its 1994 Indoor Air Quality proposal, signifying that in the years since 1994, many state and local government and private employers had taken action to curtail smoking in public areas and workplaces.

Office of the Surgeon General
The Office of the Surgeon General, under the direction of the Surgeon General, oversees the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and provides support for the Surgeon General in the accomplishment of additional duties which include: protecting and advancing the health of the nation through educating the public; advocating for effective disease prevention and health promotion programs and activities; and providing a highly recognized symbol of national commitment to protecting and improving the public's health. The Office of the Surgeon General is also responsible for providing leadership in promoting special health initiatives, e.g., tobacco and HIV prevention efforts, with other governmental and non-governmental entities, both domestically and internationally. "Reducing Tobacco Use: A Report of the Surgeon General" (August 2000) is available on this Web site. In addition, both consumer and clinician materials on tobacco cessation are located here.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA is charged with improving the quality and availability of services relating to substance abuse and mental health. Under SAMHSA, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) is the focal point for the identification and promotion of strategies to prevent substance abuse, including tobacco use. CSAP oversees implementation of the Synar Amendment, which requires states to have laws in place prohibiting the sale and distribution of tobacco products to persons under 18, and to enforce those laws effectively. Specific information on the Synar Amendment program includes regulations, fact sheets, retailer outlet guidance and state rate tables. The tables show reported and targeted rates of noncompliance (sales to minors) by state for 1997-2001.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Minority Health (OMH)
Under the direction of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, OMH advises the Secretary and the Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) on public health issues affecting American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, Blacks/African Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos. The mission of OMH is to improve the health of racial and ethnic populations through the development of effective health policies and programs that help eliminate disparities in health.

Additional link: ATOD Resource Guide: African Americans This "Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Resource Guide" was compiled from a variety of publications and databases and represents the most current information.

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Not-for-Profit Agencies

Advocacy Institute (AI)
Founded in 1985, the Advocacy Institute works to achieve a just society, in the U.S. and globally, based on the following core values: justice for those denied justice; economic equality for those denied sustenance and opportunity; public health and security for those at preventable risk; and access to political power for those who have been denied an equal voice in the policymaking process. In such a society, all people are able to participate fully in shaping public values and policies. Through reflection, networking with fellow advocates and skill strengthening, the Advocacy Institute facilitates capacity building workshops and seminars that aim to strengthen social movements. The publications list includes a number of resources on tobacco.

Alliance for Justice
The Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations. Since its inception in 1979, the Alliance has worked to advance the cause of justice for all Americans, strengthen the public interest community's ability to influence public policy, and foster the next generation of advocates.

Additional link: Nonprofit Advocacy Project The Nonprofit Advocacy Project works to strengthen the voice of the nonprofit sector in important public policy debates by giving tax-exempt organizations a better understanding of the laws that govern their participation in the policy process. Foundation Advocacy Institute The Foundation Advocacy Initiative seeks to educate grantmakers on their legal rights to support advocacy work through workshops and on-going technical assistance. This project encourages foundations to support nonprofit advocacy work, allowing nonprofits to influence public policy with confidence and commitment.

American Medical Association (AMA)
The American Medical Association’s strategic agenda is rooted in its commitment to standards, ethics, and excellence in medical education and practice, and advocacy on behalf of the medical profession and the patients it serves. The AMA's work includes the development and promotion of standards in medical practice, research and education; a strong advocacy agenda on behalf of patients and physicians; and the commitment to providing timely information on matters important to the health of America. The AMA strives to serve as the voice of the American medical profession.

The AMA is a collaborative partner with the SmokeLess States®: National Tobacco Policy Initiative. Please see separate entry under SmokeLess States.

American Public Health Association (APHA)
APHA, a member-based organization, brings together researchers, health service providers, administrators, teachers and other health workers in a multidisciplinary environment of professional exchange, study and action. APHA is concerned with a broad set of issues affecting personal and environmental health, including federal and state funding for health programs, pollution control, programs and policies related to chronic and infectious diseases, a smokefree society and professional education in public health.

Additional link: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) Section The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs (ATOD) Section develops, fosters and advocates for sound research, policy and practice in the fields of ATOD epidemiology, prevention and treatment.

Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights and Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights is a national lobbying organization dedicated to nonsmokers' rights, confronting the tobacco industry at all levels of government to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke and youth from tobacco addiction. ANR pursues an action-oriented program of policy and legislation.

The Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation (ANRF), an educational nonprofit organization, creates comprehensive programs for youth on issues of smoking prevention and their right to breathe smokefree air. ANRF also provides educational materials to aid adults seeking a smokefree environment.

The Web site includes a wide variety of materials, including how to protect yourself from secondhand smoke, health hazards of secondhand smoke, information about local clean indoor air ordinances (including how to pass an ordinance, and the economic impact of ordinances), ventilation issues, preemption, smokefree airports campaign, tobacco industry strategies and tactics, education programs for youth and action alerts.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is fighting to free America's youth from tobacco and to create a healthier environment. Its goals are to alter the public's acceptance of tobacco, change public policies at federal, state and local levels to protect children from tobacco, and increase the number of organizations and individuals fighting against tobacco.

Additional link: Research Center The Campaign’s Research Center includes fact sheets and special reports on tobacco’s toll in your state, tobacco settlement spending, issues related to tobacco and youth, secondhand smoke, special populations and many additional topics.

Join Together Online
Join Together Online (JTO) is a comprehensive network of free Internet-based services supporting community-based efforts to address drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse, and gun violence. JTO provides free Web plug-ins to over 240 Web sites and uses an e-mail service to deliver news headlines, funding notices, resource links and action alerts to over 38,000 JTO Direct and cobrand-version subscribers. Thousands of community leaders, professionals and concerned citizens use JTO every day to be more informed and effective in their local efforts to reduce and prevent these devastating public health problems. JTO is primarily funded by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the Boston University School of Public Health.

Legacy for Health
The American Legacy Foundation (Legacy) is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Legacy’s programs work to engage all Americans in the dialogue about tobacco and to foster an understanding about its harmful effects. Legacy sponsors truth, a national youth prevention campaign and EX, an innovative cessation campaign.

Oral Health America's National Spit Tobacco Education Program (NSTEP)
Oral Health America's National Spit Tobacco Education Program was founded in 1994 as an effort to educate people about the dangers of smokeless or spit tobacco, and break the long-standing link between this potentially deadly drug and baseball. The site lists coordinators for activities in about 20 states, spit tobacco facts, resources and speakers bureau.

Partnership for Prevention (PFP)
Partnership for Prevention is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase the resources for and knowledge about effective disease prevention and health promotion policies and practices. Its members include the nation's leading employers, health-related professional and trade associations, universities and academic health centers, nonprofit policy and research institutions, health plans and state health departments. Partnership for Prevention periodically releases statements on policy issues that reflect their views on issues being addressed by policymakers. They also publish Priorities in Prevention, which are issue briefs that cover a variety of health topics and identify opportunities to protect and improve health.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation was established as a national philanthropy in 1972 and today is the largest U.S. foundation devoted to improving the health and health care of all Americans.

This foundation concentrates its grantmaking in four areas:

1. The assurance that all Americans have access to basic health care at reasonable cost;
2. The improvement of care and support for people with chronic health conditions;
3. The promotion of healthy communities and lifestyles; and
4. The reduction of personal, social and economic harm caused by substance abuse — tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs.

Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE)
The Society for Public Health Education is an independent, international professional association made up of a diverse membership of health education professionals and students. SOPHE’s mission is to provide leadership to the profession of health education and health promotion to contribute to the health of all people through advances in health education theory and research, excellence in health education practice, and the promotion of public policies conducive to health.

While there is no tobacco-specific information on this Web site, SOPHE does alert its membership to take action on tobacco issues.

Technical Assistance Legal Center (TALC)
The Technical Assistance Legal Center (TALC), funded by the California Department of Health Services, provides California communities with free technical assistance on tobacco control policy issues. TALC staff attorneys provide advocates, health professionals, government attorneys, and elected officials in California with products and services on tobacco control policies. An extensive collection of publications and legal tools is available on the TALC website at no cost.

Tobacco Cessation Leadership Network
The vision of the Network is to help increase the capacity in every state to establish effective, sustainable, and affordable services to help tobacco users quit and stay quit. The goal of the Network is to link state and national cessation leaders together to share implementation knowledge, tools, and resources, and to collaborate on new and/or combined implementation approaches and strategies.

Tobacco Law Center
The Tobacco Law Center works to improve tobacco control laws and policies at local, national, and international levels. Through research, policy development, and analysis, technical assistance and consulting, the center helps policymakers, nonprofit organizations, advocates, and health professionals address tobacco-related legal issues.

Additional link: Tobacco Control Legal Consortium Launched by the Tobacco Law Center and other legal centers, the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium is a national network supporting tobacco control policy change by giving advocates better access to legal expertise. The Consortium’s priorities are to help make legal technical assistance an integral part of comprehensive tobacco control programs, provide a limited degree of direct legal support and raise awareness of the role of legal services in effective policy change. Within its resources, the Consortium works to assist communities with urgent legal needs and to increase the legal resources available to the tobacco control movement.

Tobacco Products Liability Project (TPLP)
The Tobacco Products Liability Project studies, encourages and coordinates products liability suits against the tobacco industry and legislative and regulatory initiatives to control the sale and use of tobacco as a public health strategy. Products liability suits increase public awareness about the dangers of cigarette smoking and offset the billions of dollars spent annually by the tobacco industry in promoting its deadly products. These suits also help to increase the cost of each pack of cigarettes, thereby discouraging consumption and new addiction, particularly among the children and young adults who are principal targets of tobacco advertising. The legal assistance that TPLP provides to states and municipalities attempting to pass tobacco control measures ensures that such measures are enacted in a legally valid manner, and drafted so as to withstand probable tobacco industry legal challenges.

As part of its general activities, the Tobacco Products Liability Project:

• sponsors an annual conference
• refers potential plaintiffs to attorneys
• provides an information clearinghouse
• files amicus curiae briefs
• performs legal research and analysis in support of municipalities undertaking tobacco control
• testifies at Congressional hearings
• gives workshops and lectures.

The Web site features summaries of recent tobacco litigation and corresponding links to press releases and relevant external resources.

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Organizations That Represent Priority Populations

Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)
The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) is a national association representing community health organizations dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration and leadership that improve the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders within the United States, its territories and freely associated states, primarily through its member community health clinics.

Additional link: Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment and Leadership (APPEAL) The Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment and Leadership (APPEAL), a component of AAPCHO, has established itself as the only national Asian American and Pacific Islander network providing key technical assistance and resources on tobacco control. Their mission is to prevent tobacco use in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community through five priority areas: network development, capacity building, education, advocacy, and leadership development. APPEAL’s “Creating New Mountains Tobacco Control Leadership Program” is a leadership program that specifically addresses tobacco control issues for the diverse AAPI communities. The site has information on capacity building, youth leadership initiatives, policy and leadership development, and a calendar of Asian American and Pacific Islander tobacco control-related events.

The BACCHUS & GAMMA Peer Education Network
The BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network is an international association of college and university-based peer education programs focusing on alcohol abuse prevention and other student health and safety issues. Their mission is to actively promote peer education as a useful element of campus health education and wellness efforts.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention selected the BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network to help make tobacco prevention a higher priority on college and university campuses. To this end, the S.T.E.P. By STEP program is designed to give campuses a comprehensive, month-by-month guide to tobacco control for the college population. The program has two components: S.T.E.P. By STEP Monthly Calendar and S.T.E.P. By STEP Resource Manual. Resources for programming, stakeholder identification, creating a campus resource sheet, and training and educating campuses about the importance of tobacco control are included. Materials can be downloaded from the Web site and adapted to fit individual campuses.

California Youth Advocacy Network
Organization facilitates tobacco prevention with over 150 colleges in California
Contact: Kimberlee Homer,
Executive Director
youthnet@softcom.net

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Division of Reproductive Health
The Division of Reproductive Health is one of the divisions within the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), which is also home to the Office on Smoking and Health. The Division of Reproductive Health sponsors the Prenatal Smoking Cessation program, which develops and enhances maternal and child health programs’ capacity to reduce the effects of smoking among women of reproductive age and their families.

Employee and Family Resources, Inc.
Employee & Family Resources is a private, not-for-profit social service organization. Their mission is to enhance the emotional and behavioral well-being of individuals, families, organizations and communities.

Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA)
The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), with involvement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) health experts and the National Coalition for LGBT Health, produced the Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for LGBT Health, released in March 2001. The chapter on tobacco use includes a summary of LGBT research and discussion of Healthy People 2010 objectives and how they relate to the LGBT community.

Health Education Council
The Health Education Council is a nonprofit organization that conducts grant-funded health education programs targeting predominantly ethnic minority residents. Two programs of the Health Education Council are the National African American Tobacco Education Network and the National Tobacco Prevention Network.

The National African American Tobacco Education Network (NAATEN) serves as a convener of national organizations that serve the African American community. NAATEN educates stakeholder organizations to become active partners in tobacco prevention efforts in their organizations and the communities they serve. In addition to educating and engaging the national stakeholder organizations, NAATEN works with local organizations that serve African Americans by conducting training in evidence-based strategies for addressing tobacco use by African Americans.

The National Tobacco Prevention Network (NTPN) serves as a convener of organizations that are addressing the issues associated with low socioeconomic status. These organizations include, but are not limited to low literacy, housing, education, and previously incarcerated populations. By bringing together organizations that impact the lives of the low SES community, NTPN hopes to put tobacco on the priority list of each organization. The National Tobacco Prevention Network also works collaboratively with other networks in developing innovative approaches to implementing tobacco prevention initiatives in various low SES communities. This is to increase the prevention efforts in the community, while increasing leadership skill of those in the community.

Indian Health Service (IHS)
The Indian Health Service is the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services that works to assure that comprehensive, culturally acceptable personal and public health services are available and accessible to American Indian and Alaska Native people. The IHS page on Tobacco Control includes information about the six Tribal Tobacco Support Centers and tailored health education materials.

International Network of Women Against Tobacco (INWAT)
INWAT is an international network of women against tobacco with the goal of improving women’s health by preventing or stopping tobacco use and exposure. INWAT provides contacts to individuals and organizations working in tobacco control; collects and distributes information regarding global women and tobacco issues; shares strategies to counter tobacco advertising and promotion; supports the development of women-centered tobacco use prevention and cessation programs; assists in the organization and planning of conferences on tobacco control; collaborates on the development of publications regarding women and tobacco issues; and promotes female leadership.

National African American Tobacco Prevention Network
The mission of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network (NAATPN) is to serve as a national organization dedicated to facilitating the development and implementation of comprehensive and culturally competent tobacco prevention and control initiatives to benefit people of African descent.

National Coalition for LGBT Health
The National Coalition for LGBT Health is committed to improving the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and communities through public education, coalition building and advocacy that focuses on research, policy, education and training. The coalition has a website dedicated to tobacco resources and research.

National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery (NAAAPI)
NAAAPI believes the mission of tobacco control advocacy is to change social policy or societal norms through education and action. One of its current projects is called Breathe Free. It includes "Breathing Free: African Americans and Secondhand Smoke," a special clean indoor air booklet designed to address cultural issues that are part of the African American experience – such as extended families, respect for elders, and rejection of all forms of discrimination. NAAAPI sponsors annual World No Tobacco Day events at the end of May.

The National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention
The National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention (NLCATP) website is an interactive forum where dedicated community leaders can discuss current topics, share resources and organize for change in the alcohol and tobacco arena. NLCATP aims to unite advocates around the country through this forum. Website users who register as members will be listed on the site's national directory, and can comment on recent blog postings and post forum discussions.

National Latino Tobacco Control and Prevention Network
The Network is an open information and support system for tobacco control and health disparities advocates and experts who want to become more effective in changing policies and social norms around tobacco control through exchange of information and personal and institutional linkages. The NLTCPN seeks to build, inform, support and energize a Network of Latino tobacco control experts and activists to work with communities, states and coalitions to address the health burdens created by tobacco consumption by promoting policies and programs to prevent youth initiation, increase quit rates and assure smoke free environments. The Network is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

National Tribal Tobacco Prevention Network
The National Tribal Tobacco Prevention Network is a project of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. It addresses tobacco concerns by providing tobacco education and prevention assistance to urban health and community centers serving American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Web site has current news on tobacco issues concerning American Indians and Alaska Natives.

National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC)
The National Youth Advocacy Coalition is a social justice organization that advocates for and with young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) in an effort to end discrimination against these youth and to ensure their physical and emotional well-being.

NYAC takes a comprehensive approach to improving the lives of LGBTQ youth and operates through a social justice framework. NYAC strongly believes that to be effective in creating change at the national level, focused, grassroots advocacy at the local level is critical. NYAC knows that the expertise required to strengthen the LGBTQ youth movement can be found among both young people and adults from around the country.

This site provides links to programs and other resources in the area of Tobacco Control and Prevention/Smoking Cessation.

Out of Many, One: Campaign to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health (OMO)
Out of Many, One: Campaign to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health believes that the attainment of the highest level of health and quality of life is a basic human and civil right. OMO embraces a vision of healthy communities that respect diverse cultural and spiritual values and empower all people - individuals and families - in a loving, holistic, healing and compassionate manner. OMO is committed to the development of a diverse leadership to build a healthy environment and a prosperous, just and humane society. OMO assists community-based organizations, federal, state and local government agencies to build effective multicultural coalitions addressing minority health and health disparities. By using proven coalition-building techniques and a dedicated network of organizations that comprise its core management structure, OMO is able to outreach to multiple communities nationwide and to build the capacity of organizations to be effective in addressing local and national concerns regarding disparities in health care.

The Praxis Project
The focus of the Praxis Project is to support local policy change for health justice. It serves as the National Program Office for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Policy Advocacy on Tobacco and Health (PATH), an initiative that provides grants, technical assistance and training to support tobacco policy advocacy in diverse communities.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Minority Health (OMH)
Under the direction of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, OMH advises the Secretary and the Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) on public health issues affecting American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, Blacks/African Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos. The mission of OMH is to improve the health of racial and ethnic populations through the development of effective health policies and programs that help eliminate disparities in health.

Additional link: ATOD Resource Guide: African Americans This Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Resource Guide was compiled from a variety of publications and databases and represents the most current information.

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State-Related Agencies

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) – Tobacco Prevention and Control Project
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials is the national nonprofit organization representing the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia. ASTHO's members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are responsible for formulating and influencing sound public health policy and assuring excellence in state-based public health practice.

The ASTHO Tobacco Prevention and Control Project was established in 1988 and currently operates under a 5-year Cooperative Agreement with the Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Project raises the visibility of tobacco prevention and control issues among state health officials and their senior staff. It ensures that state health officials and their agencies have the information and tools they need to address tobacco control activities in their state. The Project improves the capacity of states to prevent tobacco addiction and works with partner organizations to analyze emerging issues.

National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG)
NAAG fosters interstate cooperation on legal and law enforcement issues; conducts policy research and analysis of issues; and facilitates communication between the states’ chief legal officers and all levels of government.

The Tobacco Project serves as the liaison to the NAAG Tobacco Committee and settling states on the implementation and enforcement of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The Project assists the states with the coordination of enforcement strategies and dealing with other issues that arise in the area of tobacco. Resources are provided for MSA documents and current legislation related to tobacco.

National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) – Tobacco Prevention and Control Project
NACCHO is a nonprofit membership organization serving local health departments nationwide — in cities, counties, townships and districts. The NAACHO Tobacco Prevention and Control Project aims to strengthen local health departments' capacity to engage in tobacco use prevention and control and increase the integration of national, state and local tobacco control efforts.

National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH)
The National Association of Local Boards of Health represents the interests of local boards of health and assists them in assuring the health of their communities. The NALBOH Web site has links to resources on advocacy and best practices, conferences and training, funding opportunities, and success stories about tobacco control at the local-level.

National Conferences of State Legislators (NCSL)
NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves the lawmakers and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. NCSL is a source for research, publications, consulting assistance, meetings and seminars. It provides an open, bipartisan, national forum for lawmakers to communicate with one another and share ideas. NCSL represents the states’ interests before Congress, the administration and federal agencies.

National Governors Association (NGA)
The National Governors Association is a public policy organization that provides governors and their senior staff members with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the administration on key federal issues, to developing policy reports on innovative state programs and hosting networking seminars for state government executive branch officials. The NGA Center for Best Practices focuses on state innovations and best practices on issues that range from education and health to technology, welfare reform and the environment. NGA also provides management and technical assistance to both new and incumbent governors.

Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California (TECC)
The Tobacco Education Clearinghouse of California is funded by the California Department of Public Health, California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) to provide a broad array of professional services to CTCP-funded projects and maintain an extensive sales catalog of over 550 tobacco education products. The Clearinghouse is operated by ETR Associates, a national nonprofit health education agency.

Voluntary Organizations

American Cancer Society (ACS)
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.

American Heart Association (AHA)
The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular disease and stroke. AHA’s ultimate goal is to move people to act, adopt a healthier lifestyle and have regular checkups. They are also an aggressive advocate for health issues and research funding, focusing on the tobacco issue, emergency medical care, advancing acute care and encouraging physical activity.

Additional link: Cigarette Smoking and Cardiovascular Diseases Includes AHA Scientific Positions, Q and As, related AHA publications and fact sheets.

American Lung Association (ALA)
The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization that fights lung disease in all its forms, with special emphasis on asthma, tobacco control and environmental health. ALA offers a variety of smoking control and prevention programs targeted to specific groups, including adults, schools, community leaders, parents and educators. ALA also uses advocacy to influence the development and enforcement of laws and regulations related to lung health and communications programs to inform and educate the public about the impact and prevention of lung disease.

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