THURS-020 - Cigs, Rigs, and Policy Gigs: Duval’s Stand Against Harmful Substance Use
Thursday, April 23, 2026
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM PST
Location: Plaza Foyer, Plaza Level
Area of Responsibility: Area V: Advocacy Keywords: Advocacy@@@Child and Adolescent Health@@@Smoking and Tobacco, Subcompetencies: 5.1.3 Identify factors that facilitate and/or hinder advocacy efforts (e.g., amount of evidence to prove the issue, potential for partnerships, politi, 5.2.4 Educate stakeholders on the health issue and the proposed policy, system, or environmental change. Research or Practice: Research
Graduate Assistant and MPH Student University of North Florida Saint Augustine, Florida, United States
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Analyze geospatial data of schools and tobacco retailers across Duval to identify substance sales within a mile of schools using maps to help propose zoning policies in the next year.
Inform stakeholders on the prevalence of tobacco retailers within a mile of secondary schools using maps to drive targeted outreach efforts for adolescent health, reducing polysubstance use in two years.
Partner with secondary schools and community organizations to implement targeted prevention strategies informed by geospatial maps of nearby tobacco retailers, with the goal of reducing adolescent polysubstance use within two years.
Brief Abstract Summary: Utilizing environmental scanning and spatial analysis to recognize factors which impact substance use in youth, this study aims to gain insights into zoning policies which could be improved through policy and advocacy efforts. Duval County students in middle and high school have a higher prevalence of tobacco use when compared to national statistics, leading to higher risk of polysubstance use (concurrent use of alcohol, THC, CBD, vaping, etc.), lung diseases, and other ailments. Using Duval County Public School and licensed tobacco retailer location information and ArcGIS software, we can identify several examples of substance exposure within a mile away from both middle and high schools. All locations had at least two retailers within a mile of the school grounds. This information also provides context for future outreach within Duval County, Florida. Future research can explore how environmental factors and their sociopolitical drivers affect substance use behavior among youth.
Detailed abstract description:
Background: Duval County students in middle and high school have a higher prevalence of tobacco use when compared to national statistics, leading to higher risk of polysubstance use (concurrent use of alcohol, THC, CBD, vaping, etc.), lung diseases, and other health ailments. While recent community “wins” in the policy sector have occurred, significant environmental exposure exists, which is driving high adolescent tobacco use. Environmental exposure to tobacco poses challenges to local and grassroots advocacy efforts. We used a risk environmental framework approach to identify factors driving high adolescent substance use in Duval County. The purpose of this geospatial analysis is to examine the availability of and possible youth exposure to substances.
Methods: Data collected were analyzed using ArcGIS software to estimate the proximity between public secondary schools and tobacco and alcohol retailers.
Results: Three public high schools and three public middle schools reside within the zip codes described. Of these, 100% of high schools and 67% of middle schools had a tobacco or alcohol retailer surveyed approximately a mile from their premises. All locations had at least two retailers within a mile when accounting for all retailers.
Conclusion: These results point to promising suggestions for updated rezoning policies and will be shared with local and grassroots leadership to reduce substance use exposure among adolescents. This analysis is part of a comprehensive, multicomponent approach to addressing adolescent substance use, which also includes outreach efforts in schools. Future research can explore how environmental factors and their sociopolitical drivers affect substance use behavior among youth.
