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Grant Details

Grant Number: 1R01CA095964-01 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator: Balbach, Edith
Organization: Tufts University Medford
Project Title: Labor and the Tobacco Industry
Fiscal Year: 2002


Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): While the shared interests that unions and public health have in worker health has led to cooperation on many health issues, it has often not led to such cooperation on tobacco control. While some unions have been supportive of tobacco control efforts, many have not, and a number have adopted pro-tobacco industry positions, e.g., protesting tax increases, helping to pass laws preventing discrimination against smokers in employment, and assisting in the defeat of clean indoor air legislation. We will study why labor unions and public health have had a problematic relationship around tobacco issues, in contrast to other health issues, and to explore how that relationship might be improved. A collaborative relationship has the potential to improve the health status of blue collar and service sector workers. Our overall research goal then is to build a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the relationships between the tobacco industry and organized labor. To achieve this goal, we plan to document the nature and extent of the tobacco industry's political relationship with organized labor at the federal, state, and local level through pursuit of two specific research aims: (1) Conduct a comprehensive search of the tobacco industry document databases for materials related to the political alliances between organized labor and the tobacco industry at the federal, state, and local levels on issues related to tobacco policy. And, (2) develop nine case studies based on research conducted under Specific Aim #1, using additional information found through the labor press, local newspapers, and other written sources, and through interviews with key labor leaders and public health activists. Case studies will focus on clean indoor air, tobacco tax increases, and employment discrimination at the federal, state, and local level.



Publications

Cigarette Excise Taxes in Context: Cautionary Lessons from the U.S. Experience.
Authors: Campbell R.B. , Balbach E.D. .
Source: International Journal Of Health Services : Planning, Administration, Evaluation, 2015; 45(3), p. 564-77.
PMID: 26077861
Related Citations

Editorial input for the right price: tobacco industry support for a sheet metal indoor air quality manual.
Authors: Campbell R. , Balbach E. .
Source: New Solutions : A Journal Of Environmental And Occupational Health Policy : Ns, 2013; 23(3), p. 467-83.
PMID: 24401484
Related Citations

Manufacturing credibility: the National Energy Management Institute and the Tobacco Institute's strategy for indoor air quality.
Authors: Campbell R.B. , Balbach E.D. .
Source: American Journal Of Public Health, 2011 Mar; 101(3), p. 497-503.
PMID: 21233427
Related Citations

Unhealthy partnerships: the tobacco industry and African American and Latino labor organizations.
Authors: Raebeck A. , Campbell R. , Balbach E. .
Source: Journal Of Immigrant And Minority Health / Center For Minority Public Health, 2010 Apr; 12(2), p. 228-33.
PMID: 19579065
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Union women, the tobacco industry, and excise taxes: a lesson in unintended consequences.
Authors: Balbach E.D. , Campbell R.B. .
Source: American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 2009 Aug; 37(2 Suppl), p. S121-5.
PMID: 19591750
Related Citations

Building alliances in unlikely places: progressive allies and the Tobacco Institute's coalition strategy on cigarette excise taxes.
Authors: Campbell R.B. , Balbach E.D. .
Source: American Journal Of Public Health, 2009 Jul; 99(7), p. 1188-96.
PMID: 19443832
Related Citations

Mobilising public opinion for the tobacco industry: the Consumer Tax Alliance and excise taxes.
Authors: Campbell R. , Balbach E.D. .
Source: Tobacco Control, 2008 Oct; 17(5), p. 351-6.
PMID: 18687706
Related Citations

Clearing the air: the evolution of organized labor's role in tobacco control in the United States.
Authors: Zelnick J. , Campbell R. , Levenstein C. , Balbach E. .
Source: International Journal Of Health Services : Planning, Administration, Evaluation, 2008; 38(2), p. 313-31.
PMID: 18459283
Related Citations

Political coalitions and working women: how the tobacco industry built a relationship with the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
Authors: Balbach E.D. , Herzberg A. , Barbeau E.M. .
Source: Journal Of Epidemiology And Community Health, 2006 Sep; 60 Suppl 2, p. 27-32.
PMID: 17708008
Related Citations

From strange bedfellows to natural allies: the shifting allegiance of fire service organisations in the push for federal fire-safe cigarette legislation.
Authors: Barbeau E.M. , Kelder G. , Ahmed S. , Mantuefel V. , Balbach E.D. .
Source: Tobacco Control, 2005 Oct; 14(5), p. 338-45.
PMID: 16183985
Related Citations

Political coalitions for mutual advantage: the case of the Tobacco Institute's Labor Management Committee.
Authors: Balbach E.D. , Barbeau E.M. , Manteufel V. , Pan J. .
Source: American Journal Of Public Health, 2005 Jun; 95(6), p. 985-93.
PMID: 15914820
Related Citations

Smoke-free airlines and the role of organized labor: a case study.
Authors: Pan J. , Barbeau E.M. , Levenstein C. , Balbach E.D. .
Source: American Journal Of Public Health, 2005 Mar; 95(3), p. 398-404.
PMID: 15727966
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