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Legislators and policy makers support population
health by enacting effective laws and policies.
You want to know what works and at what cost
when developing legislation or new policies.
The Guide to Community Preventive Services
(Community Guide) serves as a premier source
of high quality information on those public
health interventions and policies (including
law-based interventions) that have been proven
to work in promoting health and preventing disease,
injury, and impairment.
How Have Legislators Already Used Community
Guide Findings?
Community Guide finding:
In 2000, the Community Guide scientific process
found that state laws that establish the legal
blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit for
automobile drivers at 0.08% reduce alcohol-related
fatalities by 7%.
Action taken: Based in part
on this finding, the U.S. Congress required
in fiscal year 2001 appropriations law that
states enact 0.08% BAC laws or risk losing federal
highway construction funds.
Result: Since passage, all
50 states have enacted legislation dropping
the legal blood alcohol concentration to 0.08%.
With all states enacting and enforcing the 0.08%
BAC laws, experts estimate 400-600 fewer alcohol-related
deaths will occur on our roadways each year.
What Other Findings Are Available from
the Community Guide?
Legislators and policy makers can support
population health through:
- Broad-based policies (e.g., smoking bans
and laws)
- Targeted laws (e.g., child safety seat
laws)
- Educational requirements (e.g., vaccination
requirements for child care and school attendance)
- Community-wide interventions (e.g., water
fluoridation)
The Community Guide provides scientifically
based information that can support your proposed
legislation or policy. We hope you will look
over the topic areas (on the navigation bar
at the left of the screen) to see which areas
interest you.
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