State and Community Advocacy

Increasing the cigarette tax, enacting smoke-free air laws, raising the minimum legal sale age to 21, and funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs are proven ways to reduce smoking.  Revenues from tobacco taxes can also help states fund critical health programs, including tobacco prevention and cessation.

By creating inclusive and coordinated STEMI and Stoke facility designations and registries and by requiring all 911 telecommunicators be trained in the delivery of high quality telephone CPR, we’re able to improve early recognition, treatment and rehabilitation of stroke, heart attack and cardiac arrest patients.

Medicaid coverage of preventive benefits, Public funding for HDSP, Health Equity and Obesity Prevention programs, Public funding for initiatives aimed at improving cardiovascular health and reducing deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke, and Medicaid expansion all help to ensure that Americans have access to healthcare that is high quality, affordable and includes the benefits needed to prevent and treat heart disease and stroke.

Over the past few generations, this country has changed dramatically. We’ve engineered physical activity out of our daily lives and, to a large extent, removed it from our schools. Unhealthy foods are being sold in larger portion sizes and at lower prices while it remains difficult for many families to buy healthy, affordable foods and beverages. Every child should have healthy foods and drinks at home and in school, safe streets for biking and walking, and places to play after school. Voices for Healthy Kids, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is working to ensure that the places where children live, learn, and play make it easy and enjoyable for them to eat healthy foods and be active. Learn more about our Healthy Eating and Active Living work and the Voices for Healthy Kids initiative(link opens in new window).