News

Health Resources in Action is working in the City of Boston and 15 surrounding communities to help lower smoking prevalence through a variety of tobacco prevention and cessation initiatives, including the banning tobacco sales in local health care institutions.

With support from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, HRiA  is managing the Metro Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership, which supports communities in the Boston area in their efforts to restrict access to tobacco products and create awareness about the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics.

"We’re building connections among people who have an interest in reducing the prevalence of tobacco use," said Liz Tanefis, program manager of the partnership program. "Boston has been a national leader when it comes to tobacco issues, but a lot of communities outside of Boston have limited tobacco prevention and control  programs, so we’re building bridges and giving people access to resources."

The program was launched in the Boston area on July 1.

Through the partnership, HRiA is supporting local efforts to restrict tobacco sales at health care institutions, including pharmacies. This movement began three years ago in Boston, and since then about two dozen other communities have approved similar bans. More than 25 percent of the state’s population is covered by these bans.

In recent months, HRiA has helped organize community members in Revere and Brookline. In Revere, for example, HRiA supported a local coalition and worked with them to support the ban. In Brookline, a youth group from Brookline High School was provided relevant information to help them testify in support of the ban at town hearings. The efforts paid off for both communities with Brookline approving a regulation that bans tobacco sales in health care institutions, including pharmacies, in November.  Revere approved a similar ban the following month.

"Health care institutions that employ health care professionals who dispense medication should not turn around and sell something so detrimental to people’s health," Tanefis said. "We’re trying to take a local approach with our work. The ideas will spread community by community, and we’ll get behind these community efforts."

Next spring, the Metro Boston Tobacco Free Community Partnership will be hosting an event celebrating the quit stories of former smokers. "Quitting smoking is one of the hardest things these people have done," Tanefis said. "We want to pat them on the back for their efforts, and we hope they can share some inspiration for people who are thinking about quitting."

The new tobacco prevention program falls in line with other tobacco-related work HRiA has undertaken, including its smoke-free housing programs as well as programs aimed at discouraging young people from using tobacco products.

"We’ve been part of the tobacco prevention movement since 1993," said HRiA president Ray Considine. "Reducing tobacco consumption even further is an important way of tackling a lot of issues that go hand in hand with tobacco use – an increase in heart disease, cancer and respiratory illnesses."

"A lot of people think of tobacco as an issue we have overcome, but it remains a significant problem," Tanefis noted, adding "ten percent of Massachusetts health care costs are spent on tobacco-related illnesses."

The Metro Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership includes the city of Boston as well as the following surrounding towns: Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Dedham, Everett, Needham, Newton, Revere, Somerville, Watertown, Wellesley, Westwood and Winthrop.