The mission of the New Mexico Allied Council on Tobacco (NM ACT) is to advocate for proven tobacco use prevention policies through statewide partnerships to improve and save lives by reducing commercial tobacco abuse. We accomplish our mission by working to strengthen partnerships and collaborations, including educating partners about effective, research-based practices; educating partners about risks posed by emerging tobacco products, non-FDA approved nicotine delivery systems or devices, and current tobacco industry tactics; and educating partners about emerging science and the changing knowledge base of commercial tobacco control. Through these activities, we develop advocacy priorities and strategies that lead to positive tobacco legislative processes.
Recognizing that tobacco is a primary risk factor in many chronic diseases, the New Mexico Allied Council on Tobacco (NM ACT) is a workgroup of the Chronic Disease Prevention Council (CDPC; www.chronicdiseasenm.org) that aims to bring together community partners interested in working on tobacco control policy issues statewide.
This will be accomplished by building and enhancing the capacity of the workgroup participants to advocate for tobacco policy to reduce tobacco use and the harmful and addictive use of tobacco (e.g., cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco products, etc.) outside of beneficial traditional, sacred or ceremonial purposes.
The workgroup will provide input to CDPC and the New Mexico Tobacco Use Prevention and Control (TUPAC) Program on efforts to develop effective, culturally-appropriate, evidence-based strategies that address tobacco use in youth and adults in New Mexico. Special attention will be paid to addressing health disparities in vulnerable populations that are targeted by the tobacco industry.
NM ACT Goals are to:
Establish a tobacco use prevention policy advocacy network statewide beyond NM ACT.
Establish a protocol to prioritize tobacco policy issues to reduce harm based on best practices, data, available resources, community readiness, and activities from the opposition.
Establish an effective system of communication that can be accessed and activated by tobacco prevention statewide partners.