Counter Tobacco Podcast

In this episode, we provide a primer on tobacco-related Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC), which are legally binding and enforceable agreements between companies (i.e. big tobacco retailers) and one or more states (under each state attorneys general) in which the retailer agrees to adhere to certain standards and practices to reflect their commitment to the … Read More

Store assessments are visits to retail tobacco stores to document and collect data on what tobacco products are being sold and how they are being marketed and promoted in your community. In this episode, learn both why and how to conduct them, as well as how the data you collect can be used.  Listen below … Read More

In this episode, we talk about point-of-sale pricing policies, meaning ways to raise the price of tobacco sold in retail stores. Raising prices is one of the most effective ways to reduce tobacco use initiation, decrease consumption, and increase cessation. Learn how point-of-sale pricing policies, including minimum floor prices and bans on price discounts and … Read More

In this quick primer of an episode, we talk about nicotine pouches like “Zyn” and other so-called “modern” oral nicotine products, how they are being marketed and sold in the retail environment, and options for regulating this small but rapidly growing product segment with concerns about youth initiation in mind. Listen below or on Apple … Read More

Endgame strategies have been defined as, “initiatives designed to change/eliminate permanently the structural, political, and social dynamics that sustain the tobacco epidemic, in order to end it within a specific time,” and moving towards the endgame means, “moving beyond tobacco control (which assumes the continued presence of tobacco as a common, widely-available ordinary consumer product) … Read More

In this episode, we talk with Natasha Phelps, a Lead Senior Staff Attorney at the Public Health Law Center, about the recent statement on “Decriminalizing Commercial Tobacco: Addressing Systemic Racism in the Enforcement of Commercial Tobacco Control” that was released last year by a consortium of public health organizations. We take a deeper dive into … Read More

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Amanda Kong, one of the authors of a recent paper “Boosting the Tobacco Control Vaccine: recognizing the role of the retail environment in addressing tobacco use and disparities.” We discuss how key retail strategies, including addressing product availability, pricing and promotions, advertising and display, the minimum age of … Read More

This episode is all about working towards health equity with point-of-sale tobacco control. We discuss some of the drivers behind inequities in tobacco use and related morbidities and mortality, and how we can use a pro-equity approach to plan, implement, and enforce policies that allow all individuals and all communities a fair and just opportunity … Read More

‘On Your Radar’ is a new episode format designed to put the most relevant and recent news stories and research on countering tobacco product sales, promotions, and marketing in the retail environment on your radar. This episode spotlights flavor bans. From the West Coast (California) to the Midwest (Edina and Fridley, MN & Chicago, IL), … Read More

“On Your Radar” is a new episode format, where we release two mini-episodes – one halfway through the month, one at the end of the month – that provide you with the most recent and relevant news stories and research on countering tobacco product sales, promotions, and marketing in the retail environment. Listen to Part … Read More

“On Your Radar” is a new episode format, where we release two mini-episodes – one halfway through the month, one at the end of the month – that provide you with the most recent and relevant news stories and research on countering tobacco product sales, promotions, and marketing in the retail environment. Listen to Part … Read More

This episode is designed to answer all your questions about heated tobacco products, or as the industry refers to them, “heat-not-burn” products. This episode covers their design and safety, assesses their marketing and current regulation, examines a bit of the newer research and literature on the products, explains the FDA’s ‘modified risk’ label authorization for … Read More

This episode is the first in what we hope will be a new series called, ‘Authentic Voices’, where we speak with individuals in communities across the US to hear how their lived experiences and interactions in the retail environment impacted their journey with tobacco. In this episode, we speak with Shaun Pryor, a Chicago-native and … Read More

Pharmacies are licensed healthcare facilities uniquely positioned to provide healthcare services and health advice directly to community members across the US. Yet, many pharmacies still widely promote and sell tobacco products, the leading cause of preventable disease and death in this country. This episode focuses entirely on tobacco-free pharmacies. We’ll hone in on evidence-backed research, … Read More

Tobacco retail licenses (TRLs) are one of the most lasting and effective strategies in tobacco control. In addition to letting states and localities know who is selling tobacco, licensing is an evidence-based way to reduce tobacco use; it also offers a versatile regulatory platform that allows jurisdictions to implement additional policies that can further reduce … Read More

The tobacco industry spends over $9 billion dollars each year marketing cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in the United States. This episode dives into the ways in which the industry allocates this exorbitant amount of money to target communities of low socioeconomic status, and examines how the industry’s manipulative tactics impact disparities in tobacco use and … Read More

Over the past few months, we’ve seen a lot of changes to the regulatory environment surrounding tobacco products. This episode highlights the new federal flavor ban and Tobacco 21 law, as well as what some states and local jurisdictions have done to advance tobacco control and what your locality could do to support strong tobacco control. Listen … Read More

In this episode, we speak with Counter Tools’ new Executive Director, Maria Julian. Learn about her visions for the future of Counter Tools and Counter Tobacco.org and hear what she thinks we should be on the lookout for in tobacco control this upcoming year. Listen below, on iTunes, or on LibSyn.   Transcript for the … Read More

In this episode, we take a closer look at hookah. Learn about general trends in hookah tobacco use, hookah industry marketing and promotional strategies at the point of sale and point of consumption, examples of current state and local-level regulations, and point-of-sale policy options. Listen below, on iTunes, or LibSyn.  Transcript for the episode can … Read More

In this episode, we interview Katherine Ungar, Executive Director of the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation. Learn about how interest in policies raising the minimum legal sales age to 21 (or “Tobacco 21” policies) has grown in the US, what makes a strong Tobacco 21 policy, and pitfalls to avoid. We discuss the federal Tobacco 21 … Read More

In this episode, we talk with Jake Wilson, a junior and statistics major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who has been taking a service-learning course titled “Tobacco and America,” which “examines the complex significances of tobacco—a plant of great local importance to North Carolina—by placing it in a variety of historical, … Read More

As a follow-up to our webinar on the Intersection of POS Tobacco Use and the Military, we had the privilege of talking to Dr. Melissa Little, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. Dr. Little’s work centers around military populations and she is currently the head of a … Read More

On this episode of the Counter Tobacco Podcast, we continue our discussion at how different aspects of people’s lives are used by Big Tobacco and ultimately, how we can stop their influence from further spreading.  Today’s episode focuses on African-American Tobacco Use and Industry Targeting. Listen below, on SoundCloud, or on iTunes.   Sources The … Read More

On this episode of the Counter Tobacco Podcast, we begin our discussion at how different aspects of people’s lives are used by big tobacco and ultimately, how we can stop their influence from further spreading, particularly at the point of sale.  We begin with the LGBTQ community.   Sources The Role of the Media in … Read More

There’s a new product in town and it’s certainly becoming popular. This episode of the Counter Tobacco podcast explores the new trend of vaping, including how e-cigarettes work and who exactly is using them, and what regulations they are (or are not) subject to so far. Listen below, on SoundCloud, or download from iTunes.   … Read More

This episode of the Counter Tobacco podcast continues our previous discussion on how the tobacco industry views young people as “replacement smokers”, including some of the tactics they use to recruit them to their side. Listen below, on SoundCloud, or iTunes.   Sources The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use Stores Near … Read More

Episode 2:  National Tobacco Prevention Campaigns The war on tobacco rages on.  So who’s on our side? This episode of the Counter Tobacco podcast explores some of the national tobacco prevention campaigns going on right now, as well as the most infamous public service announcement of all time. Listen below or download the episode from … Read More

The Counter Tobacco Podcast is a pre-produced, interview and research-based podcast dedicated to the six million people that die from tobacco related causes each year worldwide. There are so many reasons why someone picks up their first cigarette and this podcast aims to highlight that and more. Episodes will range from in-depth profiles of the … Read More