Building Capacity to Monitor Tobacco Industry Action and Influence

Audience: State tobacco control program surveillance and evaluation staff

Key Points: The tobacco industry employs an array of marketing, pricing, distribution, political interference tactics, and other practices that have direct and indirect impact on consumers and the public.  These practices are continually adjusted to reflect findings from sophisticated research and relationships with retailers and consumers.  In contrast, tobacco control programs are at a competitive disadvantage when attempting to counter the tobacco industry because surveillance of tobacco industry actions is typically inconsistent, intermittent and incomplete.

 Some state programs, notably the California Tobacco Control Program, have used tobacco industry monitoring data to inform policy development, develop counter-marketing messages, aid enforcement efforts, and to help anticipate actions of an industry intent on undermining comprehensive tobacco program efforts. Recent expansion of state and local opportunities to regulate tobacco industry marketing has prompted CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) to develop its surveillance and evaluation capabilities so that accurate and reliable information regarding tobacco industry actions can be generated more rapidly.

Educational Experience: This panel presentation will describe the opportunities and potential challenges in monitoring tobacco industry action and influence, and will prioritize monitoring activities.

Benefits: The discussion, informed by state and national tobacco control program experiences, will:

• Highlight the uses of monitoring information for program planning and evaluation;
• Consider issues of validity, utility and feasibility in building tobacco industry monitoring systems; and
• Explore resources available to support and expand monitoring efforts.