Commercial tobacco and nicotine—whether you consume it or you’re exposed to it—are the leading preventable cause of death. Smoking and vaping, second-hand smoke, nicotine products, and health gaps are serious problems in the Milwaukee area that pose health risks to both individuals and the people in their environment.
Since 2010, Community Advocates Public Policy Institute has led the City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance to eliminate health gaps, highlight the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics, and implement effective tobacco and nicotine use prevention and control policy interventions.
The Alliance’s members raise awareness of the benefits of quitting tobacco and nicotine products in the community, conduct retailer checks to determine which stores are selling cigarettes, vapes, and other products to people under 21, and work with decision-makers to create policies and programs that improve health. Contact Alliance Coordinator Charlie Leonard to learn more.
We collaborate with disparity networks including: the Wisconsin African American Tobacco Prevention Network (WAATPN), Wisconsin Hispanic Latino Tobacco Prevention Network (WHLTPN), and the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Poverty Network (WTPPN) to address commercial tobacco use and exposure among low income individuals and communities of color.
The City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance focuses primarily on a few key areas:
Quit Line
The Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line is a free service that has helped more than 200,000 people in their journey to address their smoking, vaping, or oral nicotine use. If you’re a Wisconsin resident who is 13 or older, contact the Quit Line anytime. You might be eligible for free medications that can help you quit. Text READY to 21586, call a quit coach at 1-800-784-8669 (1-800-QUIT-NOW), or to go the Quit Line website to chat.
Youth Tobacco Prevention
With 845 commercial tobacco retailers in Milwaukee, many youth have very easy access to commercial tobacco products. We work to reduce youth access to commercial tobacco through WI WINS commercial tobacco retailer compliance checks and involve youth in the statewide FACT movement to conduct peer outreach and community education.
In 2025, 157 compliance checks at commercial tobacco retailers were conducted.
Destiny and Maya from the Neu Life FACT group share how they have been impacted by tobacco in their neighborhoods and in their families. Some Milwaukee neighborhoods have easier access to tobacco than to healthy food, and through Wisconsin Wins, they conduct compliance checks to ensure retailers don't sell to underage youth. For more information see witobaccocheck.org. To report the sale of single cigarettes, call 414-935-7430.
New Tobacco & Nicotine Product Watch
The City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance encourages parents and concerned adults to learn about new nicotine products, including vapes, smokeless pouches, and sweet candy flavors. The next generation of addictive tobacco products is here, and most of them don’t look anything like a traditional pack of cigarettes. Learn how to identify these products and talk to the young people in your life by visiting the Department of Health Services' Tobacco Is Changing website. Teens who want to quit vaping can text VAPEFREE to 873373 for free help.
The City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance Fills Several Critical Roles, Including:
We reach out and educate the media, key local and state leaders, and the general public about current commercial tobacco control issues and policy initiatives.
- We helped implement and continue to monitor adherence to the WI Smoke-Free Air Act throughout Milwaukee, a 2010 statewide law ensuring smoke-free air in bars, restaurants, and all other workplaces in Wisconsin. We also collaborate on the American Lung Association’s Clear Gains initiative to advocate for smoke-free housing.
- In 2017, we partnered with the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services to conduct a smoke-free housing training to over 300 landlords.
- We also partnered with the Milwaukee Housing Authority to conduct resident engagement sessions at four buildings as public housing prepares to go smoke-free in July 2018 in accordance with the federal HUD ruling.
- In October 2017, we partnered with the Milwaukee Health Department and United Way’s Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families on the Smoke-Free Homes for Strong Babies campaign, which included 20 bus shelter ads throughout the city encouraging residents to have friends and family step outside to smoke to improve the health of pregnant women, infants, and children.
To get involved, or obtain more information, please contact Charlie Leonard at cleonard@communityadvocates.net.
