Public Health Law Center Inc

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WHILE OUR MISSION REMAINS CONSTANT, OUR PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES EVOLVE OVER TIME, AS WE TAKE ON A BROADENING SPECTRUM OF ISSUES AND STRIVE TO CENTER EQUITY MORE CONSISTENTLY IN ALL OUR WORK. DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF THE COVID PANDEMIC, AND NOTWITHSTANDING OUR TRANSITION TO A FULLY REMOTE WORKING ENVIRONMENT, WE CONTINUED TO DELIVER EFFECTIVE SERVICES WITHOUT INTERRUPTION. AMONG OUR PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THE YEAR:1. WE CONTINUED AS THE NATION'S PRIMARY SOURCE OF LEGAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THOSE ADDRESSING THE LEADING CAUSE OF PREVENTABLE DEATH: THE EPIDEMIC OF COMMERCIAL TOBACCO USE. AMONG OTHER THINGS, WE:- WORKED INTENSELY WITH NATIONAL AND LOCAL PARTNERS TO ADDRESS OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY RELATED TO TOBACCO AND HEALTH: THE USE OF MENTHOL-FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO TARGET AFRICAN AMERICANS, YOUTH, AND LGBTQ COMMUNITIES. IN APRIL 2021, THE FDA ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD GRANT OUR 2013 PETITION, FILED ON BEHALF OF A DOZEN HEALTH-RELATED ORGANIZATIONS, CALLING FOR A FEDERAL RULE TO END THE PRODUCTION OF MENTHOL CIGARETTES - A DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL IN TIME SAVE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF LIVES.- COMPLETED OUR SECOND YEAR OF SERVICE AS THE DESIGNATED LEGAL POLICY EXPERTS SUPPORTING THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA'S COMMERCIAL TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAM, EARNING TOP MARKS FROM THE STATE'S EVALUATORS AND OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM GRANTEES.- MONITORED AND DEMYSTIFIED THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION'S REGULATORY REGIME FOR TOBACCO PRODUCTS, PRESSING FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. - ANSWERED MORE THAN A THOUSAND REQUESTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM EVERY STATE OF THE NATION ON DOZENS OF ISSUES, RANGING FROM IMPLEMENTATION OF SMOKE-FREE POLICIES TO THE REGULATION OF ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES. WHILE WE DO NOT LOBBY, THE INFORMATION, RESOURCES, AND GUIDANCE WE PROVIDED TO COMMUNITY LEADERS SUPPORTED THE DEVELOPMENT OF DOZENS OF INNOVATIVE NEW POLICIES.- EXPANDED OUR LIBRARY THE WORLD'S LARGEST OF OVER 500 TOBACCO-RELATED POLICY RESOURCES. THESE RESOURCES WERE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH OUR WEBSITE, WHICH WAS VISITED BY OVER 500,000 USERS, AND THROUGH A MONTHLY ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER SENT TO OVER 3,000 PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS.- TRAINED THOUSANDS OF PROFESSIONALS THROUGH DELIVERY OF SIXTY WEBINARS AND OTHER PRESENTATIONS.2. WE CONTINUED TO HELP COMMUNITY COALITIONS, HEALTH ADVOCATES AND OTHERS PURSUE EFFECTIVE POLICIES TO SUPPORT HEALTHY EATING AND ENCOURAGE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. OUR FOOD-RELATED WORK ADDRESSED DOZENS OF POLICY OPTIONS RANGING FROM IMPROVED NUTRITION STANDARDS FOR GOVERNMENT FACILITIES, TO DEVELOPMENT OF FARMERS' MARKETS, TO TAXATION OF SUGARY BEVERAGES. TO TAKE ONE EXAMPLE, WE ORGANIZED A NOVEL SERIES OF MULTI-DISCIPLINARY MEETINGS TO EXPLORE POLICY OPTIONS FOR WARNING LABELS ON UNHEALTHY BEVERAGES, CONVENING DOZENS OF LEADING EXPERTS TO ADDRESS CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE APPLICABLE CONSTITUTIONAL STANDARDS AND THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AS TO THE IMPACT OF VARIOUS STRATEGIES. WE ALSO CONTINUED TO SUPPORT POLICIES THAT ENCOURAGE ACTIVE LIVES, INCLUDING LEGAL ISSUES INVOLVED IN DEVELOPING PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY ROADWAYS, LAWS AFFECTING BIKING AND WALKING, AND POLICIES RELATED TO COMMUNITY DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT. MUCH OF OUR WORK FOCUSED ON THE INTEGRATION OF HEALTH CONCERNS INTO THE URBAN PLANNING PROCESS, INCLUDING A SWEEPING REVIEW OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLANS OF MORE THAN FIFTY MUNICIPALITIES, TO ASSESS THEIR IMPACT ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND OTHER HEALTH-RELATED ISSUES.3. WE CONTINUED TO DEVELOP A GROWING BODY OF WORK ADDRESSING THE UNIQUE LEGAL ISSUES AND HEALTH CHALLENGES OF POLICYMAKING WITHIN SOVEREIGN TRIBAL NATIONS, WHERE CENTURIES OF GENOCIDE AND MULTI-GENERATIONAL TRAUMA HAVE CREATED EXTREME CHRONIC DISEASE INEQUITIES, BUT WHERE A FOCUS ON TRADITIONAL WAYS AND CULTURE PROVIDES A FOUNDATION FOR CREATIVE APPROACHES THAT REINFORCE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. OUR WORK RANGES FROM CROSS-CUTTING TRAINING ON THE POLICYMAKING PROCESS, TO POLICIES THAT SUPPORT TRADITIONAL FOODWAYS, TO POLICIES THAT PROTECT SACRED TOBACCO USE WHILE EXPOSING THE ROLE OF COMMERCIAL TOBACCO AND VAPING COMPANIES IN EXPLOITING TRIBAL COMMUNITIES, TO ANALYSIS OF BEST PRACTICES FOR TRIBAL BREASTFEEDING POLICIES, AND MORE.4. AN EMERGING AREA OF FOCUS FOR THE CENTER INVOLVES POLICIES DESIGNED TO IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION EMBEDDED IN EXISTING STRUCTURES, SYSTEMS, AND STANDARDS. THIS "UPSTREAM" APPROACH INCLUDES NEW EFFORTS TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES IN ADDRESSING THE ROLE OF RACISM AS A ROOT CAUSE OF CHRONIC DISEASE, AND, INDEED, AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS IN ITSELF. THIS WORK ALSO INCLUDES INITIATIVES TO BUILD EQUITY-DRIVEN STRUCTURES INTO THE POLICY PROCESS, ACROSS ISSUES, SUCH AS THE USE OF FORMAL "RACIAL EQUITY NOTES" TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF PROPOSED LEGISLATION ON EQUITY AND JUSTICE.5. BY EMPLOYING LAW STUDENTS AND PUBLIC HEALTH GRADUATE STUDENTS AS RESEARCH ASSISTANTS TO INVESTIGATE CUTTING-EDGE HEALTH-RELATED LEGAL ISSUES, WE CONTINUED TO PROVIDE REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCES THAT ENHANCE THE CLASSROOM EDUCATION PROVIDED BY THE MITCHELL HAMLINE SCHOOL OF LAW AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING.