PROJECT WATCH

Project WATCH has been working to decrease tobacco industry influence in Minnesota since 2010. The program is funded through a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield Center for Prevention and was previously funded by ClearWay Minnesota.

Efforts focus on: identifying and tracking tobacco marketing tactics, educating city, county, and school decision makers about tobacco control best practices and providing technical assistance to tobacco control partners.

Since 2010, Project WATCH has collected more than 6,000 tobacco industry direct mail marketing pieces and more than 12,000 tobacco industry emails. This information is presented locally and nationally through in-person presentations and webinars, and a blog. Project results were also published in the peer-reviewed journal Tobacco Control.