Dates of Program: June 2004 through December 2010
Field of Work: Tobacco control policies
Problem Synopsis: Policy change is a powerful strategy for reducing tobacco's harm. Yet, tobacco-control policies have been slow to reach groups that suffer disproportionately from tobacco-related diseases, including low-income people; communities of color; tribal nations; and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
RWJF created Tobacco Policy Change to develop new partnerships with organizations experienced in advocacy, policy research, communications and community building to engage grassroots efforts in these communities.
Synopsis of the Work: From 2004 through 2010, Tobacco Policy Change supported organizations in 33 states to create diverse broad-based community coalitions to address a tobacco policy that research had shown decreased use; protected nonsmokers from secondhand smoke; helped smokers quit; or sustained tobacco control at the local, regional, and national level.