Public Health in the Rockies 2026

Background: Public health policies, including tobacco regulations, are powerful tools for promoting health equity and behavior change. Since 2019, several Colorado communities have enacted policies to prohibit flavored nicotine sales to curb youth consumption. However, evaluating local impacts is challenging; standard behavioral surveys lack geographic granularity, and sales tax data is only available at the state level. Using data from a longitudinal panel of Colorado adults, we examined awareness of local flavor ordinances stratified by geographic region, nicotine use, and demographics.

Methods: The Colorado Health Survey is administered once every three years to a random sample of Colorado adults, with consenting participants joining a longitudinal panel that is surveyed annually. In 2026, 11,340 panelists were invited to complete a survey that includes questions about local flavor ordinances. Although recruitment is active through June 30, 2026, we have identified 896 current respondents residing in communities with post-2019 ordinances. Awareness estimates were stratified by current, former, or never nicotine use. Final descriptive statistics will be generated upon recruitment completion.

Results: Overall, 33% (293/896) of participants were aware of their local ordinance. Awareness was significantly higher among current nicotine users at 60% (56/94), compared to 30% (84/286) of former users and 30% (153/515) of never-users (p < 0.05).

Implications: Preliminary results indicate that current nicotine users—the primary target of these regulations—are most aware of local policies. Final analyses will demonstrate the degree to which Colorado adults are sensitive to local tobacco policies and illustrate how awareness varies across geographic and demographic strata to inform future municipal policy design.