Each of the participating NRN organizations will be provided important information to educate their members about effective methods to establish relationships with local elected officials before local ordinances are proposed. This relationship building can take the form of store visits or office meetings—and can help facilitate effective communication with officials when local legislation is proposed. Cultivating constructive relationships with local elected officials holds the key to preventing restrictive tobacco regulations from being introduced, minimizing the potential impact from proposed legislation or defeating harmful legislation when it is considered.
In organizing and directing this effort, an underlying principle has been the belief that the whole of the NRN partnership can be greater than the sum of its parts. Each of the participating organizations will have an opportunity to contribute to the success of this joint effort by sharing important information with the coalition and the coalition making that information available to all of the participating NRN members. The ultimate objective of the NRN is not only to provide important information but to provide a platform from which affected businesses can effectively act on that information by communicating with local lawmakers. One way we can help elected officials do their jobs better is to ensure that they have an opportunity to hear from informed residents and local businesses about important policy issues.
Through this venture, NATO hopes to develop a more educated and engaged retail community that is prepared to constructively participate in the local legislative process across the country.
– Contributed by Thomas A. Briant, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO)
 announces a new effort to partner with more than 60 state and national trade associations to launch the National Response Network (NRN).){kind=link}