Feature Article

From our inception in February 2005, the Tobacco Public Policy Center's (TPPC) goal has been to be a first-rate legal and policy resource for Ohio tobacco control advocates, public health officials, and policymakers interested in reducing tobacco use and the effects of tobacco. This year, we have made great strides toward that goal.

TPPC has employed 10 student externs and law clerks since April. These students have researched sixteen different topics and produced more than twenty research fact sheets or research papers. With student assistance, we have also developed three model policies: a model workplace policy, a clean indoor air model policy, and a 100% tobacco free schools model policy. Our fact sheets and model policies are being used by advocates around the state who are working to implement policy change and create a healthier Ohio.

We responded to more than fifty requests for assistance this year on topics ranging from clean indoor air to smokefree housing. In addition, information was presented at over half a dozen seminars and conferences.

In October of this year, TPPC held its first conference, Toward a Model Ohio: Using the Law to Reduce and Prevent Tobacco Use. The conference had approximately 140 participants from around the state - a mix of attorneys, advocates, policymakers and public health professionals. Our conference was an opportunity to collaborate with some of the other members of the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, a network of legal resource centers located around the country. Doug Blanke (Tobacco Law Center, William Mitchell College of Law) flew in from Minnesota to deliver the keynote address, updating attendees on cases to watch in tobacco law, and Jim Bergman (Smoke-Free Environments Law Project) came in from Michigan to discuss smoke-free housing. One of our student law clerks presented her project information at the conference as well. The conference provided a comprehensive overview of the wide range of issues that the Tobacco Public Policy Center is researching and addressing.

On the national level, TPPC assisted with and signed onto the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium's amicus brief in the Justice Department's lawsuit against the tobacco industry. We also worked on a joint research project regarding smokeless tobacco litigation with the Legal Resource Center of Tobacco Regulation, Litigation & Advocacy at the University of Maryland School of Law.

On the Horizon

As we embark on a new year, TPPC hopes to become a leading resource for issues related to tobacco in the workplace. We are working to provide more comprehensive assistance to employers and businesses, so they will be well aware of the positive effects of creating not only tobacco-free environments, but healthy workplaces as well. In addition, we hope to venture further into issues related to smokefree housing and tobacco control campaign strategy and policy implementation. Through all these efforts, we will train more students for a future in the law by providing them with the unique experience of working at the TPPC.

Finally, we will work to continue to raise awareness about the TPPC and the services that we can provide. Our outreach efforts are ongoing, and if you are aware of groups or audiences that would be interested in hearing more about our projects, please let us know.