Case Studies

Prevention Tobacco Use

This case study from Contra Costa Health Services of preventing tobacco use illustrates how the various bands of the Spectrum coordinated the activities of the Health Department and other agencies over many strategies and across years of time to effectively implement a comprehensive approach to an issue. Activities from each band of the spectrum are described here.

Influencing Policy and Legislation

The Health Department's Tobacco Prevention Program began working with a community coalition in 1984 to develop and support two pieces of legislation: the Clean Air Ordinance and Tobacco-Free Youth Ordinance. These policies have been successful in reducing exposure to second hand smoke and youth access to tobacco.

Mobilizing Neighborhoods and Communities

The TIGHT (Tobacco Industry Gets Hammered by Teens) project mobilized youth throughout Contra Costa to educate their peers about the health effects of smoking and to make presentations to their local city councils advocating for passage of the Tobacco-Free Youth Ordinance.

Fostering Coalitions and Networks

In the mid-1980's, a coalition of the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society, worked with Contra Costa's Public Health Department to implement the strongest multi-city clean indoor air ordinance in the nation for its time. Subsequent actions by those groups and others led to the passage of the Tobacco-Free Youth Ordinance in 1998, perhaps the most comprehensive local measure in the United States to protect young people from tobacco industry influence. Dozens of members of the Tobacco Prevention Coalition and TIGHT attend City Council and Board of Supervisors meetings, document tobacco industry practices and advocate for funding for prevention. Such coalitions now exist in every county in California and often have led the fight for local ordinances related to the tobacco issue.

Changing Organizational Practices

Health Department staff who have direct contact with patients in programs such as the Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) have been trained to conduct smoking intervention efforts with patients. In another action, Public Health staff raised funds for a joint effort with the Sheriff's Department to strengthen enforcement of laws promoting clean indoor air.

Educating Providers

Child Health and Disability Prevention Program (CHDP) staff educate physicians and daycare providers to make parents aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke. Teachers and administrators in the schools are encouraged to model healthy behavior by refraining from smoking on school grounds.

Promoting Community Education

The Health Department placed programming on countywide cable television promoting local tobacco ordinances and publicizing smoking cessation classes. These local efforts reinforced the state's hard-hitting anti-smoking campaign on television, radio, and billboards all across California.

Strengthening Individual Knowledge and Skills

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) staff counsel and support pregnant women to stop smoking. Physicians in health department clinics reinforce anti-smoking messages with their patients. Tobacco Coalition members are trained in media advocacy, and TIGHT youth learn valuable public speaking skills by participating at their city council meetings.

Content provided by the The Community Wellness & Prevention Program of Contra Costa Health Services.