Multiple principal investigators Tony Yang and Carla Berg (SPH) have been awarded an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health - National Cancer Institute. The grant, which totals approximately $2 million and spans four years, will support his project entitled "Effects of State Preemption of Local Tobacco Control Legislation on Disparities in Tobacco Use, Exposure and Retail." The team includes researchers from the George Washington University, the University of Maryland, and Ohio State University.
“This project seeks to advance our understanding of how state preemption of local tobacco control laws impacts tobacco-related disparities, including those affecting racial/ethnic minorities, lower socioeconomic status individuals, and those living in rural settings,” said Dr. Yang. “Despite widespread consensus that preemption adversely impacts tobacco control efforts, there is a lack of published data-driven statistical research that quantifies these effects.”
Professor Yang's RWJF-funded research concluded that state smoke-free air preemption laws increased adult smoking prevalence and disproportionately affected counties representing minority groups. This new project will build on this foundation by examining a broader range of outcomes and impacts related to other key tobacco control preemption laws, including advertising, licensure, youth access, and taxation.
By leveraging their experience examining smoke-free policy preemption impact on adult tobacco use, the team will contribute novel information to the literature and estimate changes in tobacco use, exposure, and retail/consumerism before and after enactment or repeal of state preemption laws. This study will have high impact because it will contribute novel data to the evidence base regarding state preemption impact on health outcomes/disparities and their potential mechanisms, inform state and local policy efforts to reduce tobacco use and related disparities plaguing certain vulnerable populations, and engage key tobacco control and policy experts to catalyze effective research translation and dissemination.