Tobacco Public Policy Center at Capital University Law School Hosts "Building Bridges" Conference

October 5, 2007

The Tobacco Public Policy Center at Capital University Law School held its third annual conference at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dublin, with a focus on building partnerships between tobacco control advocates and advocates in related fields. The title of this year’s conference was Building Bridges: Tobacco Control Policy in a Broader Context. and the conference brought together experts and advocates from a variety of different areas including mental health, substance abuse, minority communities, health care, children's issues, and the environment.

The keynote speaker was Michelle Larkin, R.N., M.S., J.D., Senior Program Officer with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in Princeton, N.J. RWJF is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, and its latest tobacco policy initiative focuses on cutting-edge collaborations that directly address disparities in tobacco use and exposure. Larkin focused on the need for tobacco control advocates to work with new and diverse partners whose constituencies are more directly affected by tobacco use and exposure.

Other speakers included:

• Alejandro Garcia-Barbon, Executive Vice President of the National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco (Washington, DC), who discussed opportunities to work with the Latino community on improving public health.
• Dr. Dale Svendsen, Medical Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health, who talked about the unique challenges faced when providing tobacco cessation treatment to people with psychiatric conditions.
• A panel of four experts from the Tobacco Research Network on Disparities (TReND), an initiative created by the National Cancer Institute and the American Legacy Foundation to support research that informs public policy decisions about tobacco-related health disparities.

Micah Berman, executive director of the Tobacco Public Policy Center, said, “The success of the Smoke-Free Ohio effort shows how effective tobacco control advocates can be when they work with a wide range of partners. Much progress has been made, but nearly 20,000 Ohioans still die each year from tobacco-related disease. In order to continue reducing smoking rates, tobacco control advocates must reach out to new constituencies.”

[ View Conference Slide Show ]