Inside this issue

Communications Resources

Vape Disposal Messaging for Earth Day 

Earth Day is April 22, 2025, and it’s a good time to raise awareness around the environmental harms of vaping and smoking. Here is a sample LTE about vape and nicotine pouch disposal, as well as a template news release that you might choose to customize for your community. Consider using these social media ideas for Earth Day. 

Synar Survey News Release + Graphics 

As mentioned on the movement call, the latest Synar Survey results are in -- and Wisconsin's underage tobacco and vape sales decreased last year, with annual data showing a decline from 13.6% in 2023 to 11.8% in 2024. 

Please stay tuned for a follow-up email with materials to help share this news. We've compiled a communications that contains a news release template, suggested talking points, and social media graphics/copy.   

Paid Media Updates

Refreshed T21 Campaign

An updated Tobacco 21 paid media campaign launched on April 7 and will run through May 25, 2025. The legal sales age is 21 for tobacco and nicotine products in Wisconsin. Retailers are obligated to follow the federal T21 law.  

The new messaging clarifies changes, and based on research, includes vapes in “tobacco products,” which is not always clearly understood. The audience for this media buy is 60% tobacco retailers, 40% general public, with a special focus on young adults aged 18-21. Paid placements include: digital and static out-of-home ads, gas pump signage, streaming audio and video ads, social media, and more. Download T21 videos and graphics for your communications. 

Paid Media Campaign Updates (2024-25) 

Review the latest updates on current or upcoming paid media campaigns. We update this chart for you every month. 

No Menthol Sunday 2025

May 18, 2025 is No Menthol Sunday, a day of observance led nationally by The Center for Black Health and Equity and locally by the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network (WAATPN). No Menthol Sunday is a time to educate congregants and community members about ways to improve their health outcomes, and to highlight the role of menthol and other flavors in addiction. 

Menthol products have historically been targeted toward African Americans and other marginalized communities. Nine in 10 Black smokers in Wisconsin smoke menthols. The menthol flavor added to tobacco makes smoking easier to start and harder to quit and is popular among youth. 

Each year, the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network organizes a number of No Menthol Sunday activities in Milwaukee, including sermons and community events. WAATPN also works with retailers who agree not to sell menthol tobacco that day, as well as spoken word artists who create original pieces based on the theme for No Menthol Sunday. 

This 2025 theme is “Clearing the Way!” This theme speaks to moving forward, embracing new beginnings, and creating a path in challenging environments, which mirrors the effort to foster safer, healthier communities and encourage a tobacco-free future filled with clarity and precious moments. 



WAATPN will be hosting a No Menthol Sunday Brunch on Wednesday, April 30, 11:00am -12:30pm at Greater New Birth Church (register here). No Menthol Sunday activities have been held in Kenosha, Beloit, Fond Du Lac and Madison. Please contact the WAATPN team to request a No Menthol Sunday Wisconsin toolkit or if you would like to learn more about or host a No Menthol Sunday activity in your community! 

TTA Assessment Results

Thank you to everyone who participated in the TTA Assessment that took place from September 2024 through February 2025. We're happy to share the final report.

Here are a few highlights: 

Listening Session Themes  (Sept. 2024 - 4 sessions, 24 partners represented) 

• Provide high-quality, relevant, and accessible training to meet different coalition needs. 
• Prioritize strong relationship building between TTA providers, coalition coordinators, and external partners. 
• Streamline TTA processes with TTA Plan and develop an interim process for staff turnover in CTPTP 
• Measure the effectiveness of TTA efforts and continuously refine strategies. 

Survey Highlights 

The TTA Survey was open for two weeks (Jan/Feb 2025) and aimed to identify and prioritize specific TTA needs within different topic areas of the Scope of Work. We collected 30 total responses. Here are highlights from the survey.  



Office Hours

Friday, April 18 | 11am - noon

Commercial Tobacco-Related Disparities Office Hours: First Breath Programming with WWHF

This session will include a presentation on the First Breath program, resources for people who are pregnant, and tobacco-related disparity highlights. We will also discuss how the Wisconsin Women's Health Foundation (WWHF) expects to work with local coordinators and community partners and how local coordinators and community partners expect to work with WWHF. If you did not receive a calendar invitation or have questions before then, please reach out to Claire Piehowski.

Wednesday, April 23 | 1-2pm 

CTPTP Narrative Office Hours  

Session resource

Please bring questions, ideas and thoughts – and even if you don't have questions, please join us to listen in. Narrative Office Hours will be held biweekly, with additional sessions coming up on April 9 and 23. If you did not receive a calendar invitation or have questions before then, please reach out to Annie Rosemurgy. 

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, April 22 | 8:30 - 10am 

From Seed to Society: Cultivating Connections

UW-Madison Cannabis Research Conference, co-sponsored by UW-CTRI 

Register for virtual option to receive a Zoom link for the morning welcome/overview and keynote sessions or join the in-person waitlist to attend the full-day event at Union South, UW-Madison.

Tuesday, May 13 | 9 - 10am

Wisconsin Discusses: Evidence-Based Health Policy Project (EBHPP)

hosted by UWPHI Training & Learning

Register today

Join the conversation to learn more about the EBHPP, a partnership among the UW Population Health Institute, the La Follette School of Public Affairs, and the Wisconsin Legislative Council to connect lawmakers, researchers, and others in the public and private sectors to exchange knowledge and expertise.