The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: A primary avenue for changing social norms about tobacco use is through enactment of strong local tobacco control policies.

The objectives of the panel are to: 1) demonstrate a practical and easy to implement approach for enacting local tobacco control policies that requires advocates to develop an understanding of their community and a base of support before taking action and 2) train community-based organizations (CBOs) in implementing this approach.

Methods: The Los Angeles County Tobacco Control and Prevention Program (TCPP), in collaboration with the Center for Tobacco Policy and Organization (CTPO), developed a phase model campaign approach to pass tobacco policies in dramatically different social and political environments within Los Angeles County. The five phases are: 1) community assessment; 2) campaign strategy; 3) coalition building/broadening; 4) campaign implementation and 5) campaign evaluation.

In July 2005, TCPP funded thirteen CBOs to utilize the phase model in the following policy categories: tobacco retail licensing, smoke-free outdoor areas and smoke-free housing. The CBOs received phase model training and technical assistance from TCPP and CTPO such as developing strategies to influence policy makers and to recruit and maintain a local coalition.

Results: All thirteen CBOs completed the first three phases suggesting that the phase model can be easily put into practice and applied to a range of tobacco control policies. TCPP and CTPO will continue to provide additional training and technical assistance on phases 4 and 5. Future evaluation efforts will assess if the phase model facilitated the adoption of strong tobacco policies.