Achievements

The UTFA is an organization that recently merged two state-wide coalitions—the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Utah and the Utah Tobacco Prevention Task Force—in June of 2014. Over the years, these organizations have been successful at positively influencing the state of tobacco control in Utah. They have played a vital role in significant tobacco control successes in Utah such as:

  • • Taxed vape products at a rate that will significantly reduce youth purchasing
  • • Increased funding for state and local tobacco prevention and cessation programs
  • • Restricted the availability of flavored tobacco products
  • • Immediate enforcement of state and federal “T21” or tobacco 21 laws
  • • Closed loopholes that have allowed vape shops to set up next to schools, homes, and other “community locations”
  • • Increased the number of local health department underage investigations to ensure tobacco retailers are following state and local regulations
  • • Allowed local municipalities to pass community-supported tobacco control related ordinances
  • • Passage of the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act, which has also been updated to include vape products
  • • Developed standardized materials to help health care providers talk with their patients about tobacco cessation
  • • Passage of a $1.00 tax increase on cigarettes
  • • Regulating retail sales of e-cigarettes to prevent youth access
  • • Created a comprehensive hospital toolkit, which has led to many of Utah’s hospitals adopting a comprehensive tobacco-free campus policy
  • • Advocating for the regulation of candy-like dissolvable tobacco products in Utah