Tobacco Education & Prevention Program (TEPP)

Description

Smoking is the #1 cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Over 480,000 people in the United States die each year from tobacco-related illnesses – that is more deaths than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs, murders, and suicides COMBINED! Source: tobaccofreekids.org

Under the Sacramento County Health Education Unit, the Tobacco Education & Prevention Program works to:

Protect the public from secondhand and thirdhand smoke

Reduce youth access to tobacco products

Develop and distribute educational resources on tobacco prevention, cessation, and policy

Provide training and technical assistance to local organizations working on tobacco issues

Decrease the number of tobacco users including those who chew, smoke, and vape

Educate retailers on local, state, and federal tobacco laws and healthy retail strategies

Current Projects

Current projects that protect our community from the dangers of tobacco use:

Working with local youth and young adults to make Sacramento County a tobacco-free community
Educating community members on reducing secondhand and thirdhand smoke exposure
Increasing the number of businesses, organizations, and jurisdictions with comprehensive smoke-free policies
Assisting current tobacco users in quitting
Provide technical assistance to retailers to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal laws and implement healthy changes in the retail environment
Coordinating the Greater Sacramento Smoke & Tobacco Free Coalition

There have been many recent changes to both state and federal laws affecting tobacco products. Find out more about those changes in the Resources section below.