The Breathe Free Committee has been playing an active role this summer in policy promotion, research advising and capacity building for tobacco cessation efforts across Cleveland. As the state’s Tobacco-21 law prepares to go into effect on October 17th, 2019, the Breathe Free Committee seeks to update Cleveland’s ordinance to include the national best practice of a Tobacco Retail License in order to properly enforce the legislation. Stay tuned for final details as this process moves forward!
The committee created several infographics to share with the community and policy makers to explain the journey Tobacco-21 has taken in Cleveland since 2015 and what the tobacco retail landscape looks like. Find the infographics below.
To help promote tobacco cessation for those seeking it, the committee has also been examining the landscape of current tobacco cessation programming in the community. While all the major hospital systems offer cessation counseling for patients (and some for the general community as well) there may be a gap in services WHERE and HOW people desire them. To help learn more about this, the Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods is conducting qualitative interviews for insight and ideas, to help inform a larger action plan. Healthy Cleveland’s Breathe Free Committee agreed to be an advisory group for the PRCHN’s research projects, and dedicates meeting time for project updates and feedback.
The committee is also interested in how to increase capacity for tobacco cessation programs and counseling in the community. The next step for upcoming meetings is to explore training options, provider options and service locations. If you have input and want to be involved, reach out to us here!