Background
In November 2011, Mobile United, a community networking organization, convened the Healthy Mobile Task Force to address significant public health challenges faced by Mobile residents. With data showing that adult smoking and premature death rates in Mobile County are higher than both the national and state averages, the Task Force became a key player in Smoke Free Mobile, a community c
oalition seeking passage of ordinances for smoke free public places and workplaces throughout the City of Mobile to protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, reduce smoking prevalence, and reduce premature deaths. Looking at next steps in its efforts to improve Mobile's public health, the Task Force held a series of planning meetings to identify other public health concerns needing attention. Using data compiled in the 2011 County Health Rankings, a project of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Task Force members identified obesity and teen pregnancy as new focus areas while they continue their work on to***co issues. As part of community-wide efforts to 1) reduce to***co use, 2) reduce obesity and 3) reduce teen pregnancies, the Task Force carved out specific objectives in each of these goal areas to concentrate its efforts. This Action Plan sets forth those objectives, as well as the strategies and activities that the Task Force will use to achieve them. In late 2012, the initiative was re-branded, Live Better Mobile.
