Study Identifies Barriers to Implementing Local Tobacco Policies

Passing and adopting local policies contributes to comprehensive, environmental change, but can also present significant obstacles to community coalitions. To better understand this process, researchers Travis D. Satterland, Diana Cassady, Jeanette Treiber, and Cathy Lemp at the University of California, Davis analyzed the major barriers and challenges associated with the California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) and its local projects that attempted to pass outdoor smoke-free ordinances. The researchers found that political polarization, local political orientation and organizational barriers presented the greatest challenges to local CTCP projects.

The July/August 2011 issue of Research Into Action breaks down the findings of the study and suggests ways coalitions can build coalition capacity and data to reach policymakers and support campaigns for local tobacco ordinances.
 

More on the study and how local anti-drug coalitions can use the data to inform their efforts appears in the July/August 2011 issue of Research into Action. Download the PDF version of this publication or view this issue or previous issues on our web site. Research into Action is a free publication, which reports on research findings that impact the work of coalitions.

Published six times a year by CADCA’s National Coalition Institute, each issue examines what coalitions can do to implement knowledge they gain in their communities. Sign up for your free e-mail subscription on CADCA’s web site by providing your e-mail address in the “Get Online News Updates” box located on the bottom right hand side of the CADCA homepage.