Tobacco Free North Dakota
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| Tobacco Free North Dakota | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Bismarck, North Dakota[1] |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Top official: | Eric L. Johnson, MD, Board President |
| Year founded: | 1985 |
As of 2016, Tobacco Free North Dakota (TFND) was a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that aimed to "restrict the ability of the tobacco industry to market tobacco and to change the social environment to support nonsmoking through advocacy for public and private sector policy change and community mobilization."[2][3]
TFND identified closely with the North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy. The Tobacco Free North Dakota website said that it directly supported the Center's mission of "Saving Lives--Saving Money," through the implementation of policies that prevent tobacco use among youth, eliminate second hand smoke exposure, promote tobacco use cessation, and build North Dakota's capacity and infrastructure to support these policies. Like the Center, TFND believed the root of tobacco use in North Dakota is cultural, saying on its website, "Tobacco use is the result of a state environment which continues to allow tobacco to be aggressively marketed to youth; fails to protect nonsmokers, especially children, from the dangers of secondhand smoke; and fails to promote a social norm which encourages an individual’s choice to live tobacco free."[3][4]
Mission
According to its website, the mission of Tobacco Free North Dakota (TFND) was "to improve and protect the public health of all North Dakotans by reducing the serious health and economic consequences of tobacco use, the state’s number one cause of preventable disease and death."[3]
Background
Tobacco Free North Dakota was founded in 1985. In 1987, the organization made a strategic decision to begin supporting local and tribal anti-tobacco policies in addition to its existing lobbying efforts at the state level. According to TFND's website, this shift came in response to increased tobacco industry lobbying in the State legislature.[6]
As of 2016, Tobacco Free North Dakota was a membership-based organization. In order to join, individuals could pay annual dues ranging from $10-$500, and businesses or organizations could pay between $50-5,000 a year.[7] Along with membership dues, TFND was funded by grant monies from the Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy.[6]
Work
Online Resources
As of 2016, Tobacco Free North Dakota gathered and provided links to a variety of resources relating to the prevention of tobacco use, from information on how to quit smoking, to facts on e-cigarettes, from signage for smoke-free business environments to reports and studies from organizations like the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, the office of the U.S. Surgeon General, and Centers for Disease Control.[8]
Publications
According to its website, Tobacco Free North Dakota contributed to three publications:[8]
- TFND Newsletter: According to those newsletters published on TFND's website, the TFND Newsletter covered topics related to the organization's legislative priorities, state-wide or U.S. tobacco laws and regulations, happenings and events within TFND, facts about tobacco use, and op-eds.
- ND Physician: In 2013 and 2015, then-TFND executive director Erin Hill-Oban contributed articles to ND Physician on the topic of TFND's legislative priorities and efforts.
- Legislative Summary & Score Card: In 2013 and 2015, TFND prepared and published legislative summaries and scorecards for the 63rd and 64th North Dakota Legislative Assemblies, respectively. These publications featured a review of tobacco-related legislation during the legislative sessions as well as the voting records of legislators on tobacco-related bills.
Advocacy
On its website, Tobacco Free North Dakota described its advocacy in terms of initiating, collaborating, and supporting tobacco prevention policies. In its advocacy work, TFND worked with national and state-wide organizations like the American Lung Association, March of Dimes, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, North Dakota Farmers Union, North Dakota Medical Association and others.
Political activity
Tobacco Free North Dakota participated in a variety of political activities. Examples of these activities can be categorized into one of three areas:[6]
- Polling: According to TFND's site, the organization commissioned a poll in 2013 which gathered data about several tobacco-related measures. It reflected public support for various initiatives such as state-funded anti-tobacco programs.
- Legislation: On its website, Tobacco Free North Dakota states that in 1987, it "wrote and successfuly supported the passage of the ND Clean Indoor Air Act (HB 1272)", which required designated smoking areas in certain public places.[9]
- Ballot Initiatives: In 2012, TFND and other organizations drafted and worked to pass Initiated Statutory Measure 4, which prohibited smoking in public places.
Ballot measure activity
Tobacco Free North Dakota supported the 2016 North Dakota Tobacco Tax Increase, which was designed to increase the tax on cigarettes from 44 cents per pack to $2.20 per pack and to increase the tax on all other tobacco products from 28 percent of the wholesale purchase price to 56 percent of the wholesale price.[10]
Overview of ballot measure support and opposition
The following table details the Tobacco Free North Dakota's ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for American Lung Association | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Status |
| 2016 North Dakota Tobacco Tax Increase | 2016 | Supported[10] |  Defeated
|
Leadership
The following individuals hold leadership positions with Tobacco Free North Dakota, as of September 2016:[3]
- Eric L. Johnson, MD, President
- Julie Ferry, MSN, RN, Vice President
- Valerie Schoepf, Secretary
- Brady Weaver, Treasurer
- Jack Glasser, Board Member
- Kelly Buettner-Schmidt, PhD, RN, Board Member
- Brandon Carmichael, Board Member
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tobacco Free North Dakota. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- North Dakota Tobacco Tax Increase, Initiated Statutory Measure 4 (2016)
- North Dakota 2016 ballot measures
- Issue advocacy
External links
- Tobacco Free North Dakota Home Page
- Tobacco Free North Dakota Facebook
- Tobacco Free North Dakota Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ Tobacco Free North Dakota, "Home," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ Guidestar, "Tobacco Free North Dakota," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Tobacco Free North Dakota, "About TFND," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ Breathe ND, "Saving Lives--Saving Money: North Dakota's Comprehensive Plan to Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use 2009-2016, November 2013 Update," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ Raise It For Health ND, "The Measure," accessed September 16, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Tobacco Free North Dakota, "History," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ Tobacco Free North Dakota, "Join TFND," accessed September, 19, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tobacco Free North Dakota, "Resources," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ Ideas, "Tobacco Control Policy Making in North Dakota: A Tradition of Activisim," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Raise It for Health ND, "Current Coalition Partners," accessed September 16, 2016
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