Research priorities

The Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) funds research that spans social, behavioral and biomedical sciences and has the common objective of achieving health equity for all Californians. Despite having one of the lowest smoking rates in the country, smoking prevalence remains high among California populations that are also plagued by the negative effects of structural and social determinants of health. Reducing the negative impact of tobacco use within these “tobacco priority populations” is a primary goal of TRDRP. To address this goal, culturally-tailored research is needed on the health and behavioral effects of tobacco products and effective cessation strategies, particularly for tobacco priority populations. It is also imperative that research outcomes can be used to inform the policymakers and the general public about the ills of tobacco product use and tobacco industry marketing practices that target specific populations. This also includes research on the implementation and evaluation of state and local tobacco control policies. This is directly aligned with TRDRP’s Five Year Strategic Plan, the Tobacco Education and Research Oversite Committee (TEROC) Achieving Health Equity: California's New Plan for Tobacco and the CA Endgame Initiative, which seeks to end the sale and use of all commercial tobacco products in the state by the year 2035.