410.640.81
Global Tobacco Control: A Problem-Solving Seminar
Location
Internet
Term
2nd Term
Department
Health, Behavior and Society
Credit(s)
3
Academic Year
2025 - 2026
Instruction Method
Asynchronous Online with Some Synchronous Online
Auditors Allowed
Yes, with instructor consent
Available to Undergraduate
No
Grading Restriction
Letter Grade or Pass/Fail
Course Instructor(s)
Contact Name
Frequency Schedule
Every Year
Resources
Prerequisite
Enrollment Restriction
DrPH students only
Provides an overview of actions taken over 50 years that have led to the denormalization of smoking and made tobacco control one of the most successful public health initiatives. This course presents evidence-based policies, regulations, advocacy, and communication strategies behind these changes. The course also examines how inequities in tobacco use and exposure—across racial, socioeconomic, and geographic lines—persist, as well as strategies to address these disparities. Challenges still present include disparities as well as the introduction of new products. The tobacco industry’s role in undermining governmental and international actions to control tobacco use will also be discussed.
Introduces tobacco control strategies, policies, and practices to provide an understanding of what is being done to address this public health problem. Offers historical context to understand the consequences of tobacco use and a framework to understand how tobacco control has evolved. Covers practical approaches to tobacco prevention, control, cessation, advocacy, surveillance, and evaluation in the U.S. and other countries. Discusses tobacco industry interference in tobacco control. Explores how tobacco use and tobacco control efforts impact different populations, with attention to health disparities and equity considerations. Examines international tobacco control issues including the determinants of tobacco dependence, tobacco control strategies, emerging products (e.g., e-cigarettes), industry tactics, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), legal foundations for regulation, and surveillance and evaluation methods using lectures, case studies, and discussion.
Learning Objectives
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
- Identify the concepts and principles of tobacco control and describe the components of a comprehensive tobacco control approach
- Describe the scope of the social, health, and economic burden of tobacco use worldwide
- Describe the historical context upon which current evidence-based policies and practices are built
- Discern the different approaches occurring in the U.S. and in other regions of the world
- Discuss different types of tobacco products as well as use by different populations
- Identify the interference employed by transnational tobacco companies to undermine tobacco control
- Propose strategies to promote inclusion and equity within public health programs, policies, and systems, with particular focus on addressing disparities in tobacco use and exposure
Upon successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
Methods of Assessment
This course is evaluated as follows:
- 25% Participation
- 75% Written Assignment(s)