2021-2025 Washington State Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Control Five-Year Strategic Plan

Hello All,

The Washington State Department of Health’s Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program (CTPP) is pleased to release the 2021-2025 Washington State Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Control Five-Year Strategic Plan, an update to the 2017-2021 Strategic Plan. The statewide plan is the result of a collaborative process involving diverse community-based organizations, Tribes/Tribal entities, local health departments, educational service districts, and other state agencies. The involvement of such a broad range of partner organizations ensures that this document reflects a shared purpose and will be useful and relevant for all those with a stake in commercial tobacco use. The plan outlines a series of goals, strategies, and tactics that will guide commercial tobacco prevention and control stakeholders across Washington state, to lessen the toll of the number one preventable cause of death and disease.

“Commercial” tobacco is used in the plan to acknowledge and honor the use of traditional tobacco by some American Indian Tribes as sacred medicine and in ceremony to promote physical, spiritual, emotional, and community well-being. Traditional tobacco is different from commercial tobacco, which is manufactured and sold by the commercial tobacco industry, and is linked to addiction, disease, and death. Commercial tobacco includes any product that contains tobacco and/or nicotine, such as cigarettes, cigars, electronic cigarettes, hookah, pipes, smokeless tobacco, heated tobacco, and other oral nicotine products, and does not include FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine patches or gum.

Key points articulated in the plan are:

• Commercial tobacco product marketing, retailer density, and placement in communities increases commercial tobacco use, especially among youth.
• Spending on commercial tobacco industry marketing greatly exceeds money spent on commercial tobacco prevention and control.
• While cigarette smoking rates have decreased overall, certain groups have not seen the same decreases.
• Additional data are needed to assess the full burden of commercial tobacco use in certain communities with disproportionately high rates.
• Public policy changes are most effective when supported by commercial tobacco prevention and control activities at the state and community levels.
• Evidence-based commercial tobacco prevention and control programs reduce smoking and commercial tobacco-related diseases and deaths.

Thank you to those who generously gave their time and energy to the development of the original strategic plan and this update. We value your continued partnership and commitment to our shared vision of a Washington state free of death and disease related to commercial tobacco use.

The strategic plan, a summary, and related briefs are publicly available and can be accessed from the links below:

2021-2025 Washington State Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Control Five-Year Strategic Plan

2021-2025 Washington State Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Control Strategic Plan Summary

The Health and Economic Toll of Commercial Tobacco in Washington State

Preventing Youth and Young Adult Use of Commercial Tobacco

Commercial Tobacco Use is a Behavioral Health Issue

Commercial Tobacco Use and Dependence Treatment in Washington State

State Preemption of Commercial Tobacco Regulations: Impact in Washington State