Podcast from Washington: Global Health Exchange with Dr. Lee Smith Executive Director and County Health Officer, Monongalia County Health Department The NACCHO Podcast Series

In this week’s Podcast from Washington, Government Affairs team member Ian Goldstein discusses tobacco legislation advanced by the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee that would raise the federal tobacco purchasing age to 21, ban flavored tobacco products, and require face-to-face sales. He also discusses the Senate HELP Committee hearings on vaping, and the continuing resolution to fund the government, which runs out on November 21.
Later in the program, Emily Yox, NACCHO’s program analyst for global health, sits down with Dr. Lee Smith, the Executive Director and County Health Officer of Monongalia County Health Department in West Virginia. In their discussion, Dr. Lee describes how his county is using the popular dating app Grindr to share information and encourage testing for syphilis, after an outbreak that started primarily among MSM in early 2019. Smith drew inspiration for this program from a South African presentation he attended a decade earlier on the value of cell phone data, and was able to adapt those ideas into an initiative that addressed a specific community need.