Check out the information below about how you can spread the word about new tobacco regulations that began last week.
CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are working to educate consumers, public health partners, and the general public about new tobacco regulations that took effect July 22, 2010. These regulations prohibit the tobacco industry from distributing or introducing into the U.S. market any tobacco products for which the labeling or advertising contains the descriptors “light,” “low,” “mild,” or any similar descriptor, irrespective of the date of manufacture. However, consumers may continue to see some products with these descriptors for sale in stores after July 22 because retailers are permitted to sell off their inventory.
OSH and FDA are seeking your support to help get the word out about these new, historic FDA tobacco regulations. You can support this effort by
o Posting the new “Light/Low/Mild: No such thing” graphical button on your Web site. When clicked, this button will take visitors to new consumer-focused information entitled “No More “Light,” “Low,” or “Mild” Cigarettes.” This information provides a summary of the July 22 regulations, the public health impact, and links to key resources, including a new, expanded feature article by the same title posted on CDC’s Web site.
o Encouraging others to send Health-e-Cards emphasizing the value of being tobacco-free. See the new animated Health-e-Card that reiterates there’s no such thing as a safe cigarette.
o Informing others of a new widget located on FDA’s Tobacco Products Web site. A widget is an application that enables users to embed content from another Web site onto their Web site. As content gets updated on the source site, it’s automatically updated on the user’s site. This particular widget enables readers to embed regulation information from FDA’s Tobacco Products Web site, health information from OSH’s Smoking & Tobacco Web site, and quit information from NCI’s smokefree.gov Web site.
o Following CDCTobaccoFree on Twitter and retweeting new messages related to the July 22 FDA tobacco regulations.
o Becoming a fan of CDC’s Facebook page and posting new “Light/Low/Mild: No such thing” status updates on your Facebook profiles.
o Telling others about our new posting on CDC’s Everyday Health Widget (coming soon).
o Viewing OSH’s new entry on CDC’s MySpace page.
o Following OSH on GovLoop. GovLoop is a social networking site for the government community. It currently serves about 30,000 members, including local, state, and federal government employees and contractors. Academics and students interested in government are also welcome to join.
o Subscribing to CDC’s Smoking and Tobacco Use main feed to receive updates of new and recently changed content from CDC’s Smoking & Tobacco Use Web site on your browser or desktop.
