About Us

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Since 1974, Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy (GASP) is recognized as a tobacco control leader for initiatives on the local, county, state, federal and global levels. Our expertise is on emerging trends and issues in tobacco control.

Our Tobacco Control Policy Resource Center provides educational technical assistance on tobacco control policy, legislation and litigation, and on tobacco sales, marketing and use. We consult with governments, corporations, public health colleagues and the public-at-large to resolve tobacco-related issues, and focus on policy-driven initiatives and research reporting.

For decades, GASP has played an active role and has a rich history in tobacco control, promoting smokefree environments and tobacco-free lives for people in New Jersey and outside the State’s borders. Our programs educate and provide service to those who need to breathe air that is 100% free from carcinogenic tobacco smoke, both indoors and outside.

We are proud to be the leading nonprofit educational resource provider on the 2006 New Jersey’s Smoke-free Air Act, amended in 2010 to include a ban on the use of electronic smoking devices (like e-cigarettes, vape pens, etc. aka “ESDs”) everywhere smoking is banned by the 2006 Act.  GASP also served as the leading nonprofit resource provider for the New Jersey 100% Smokefree Residential College Housing Law, and the State law that increased the age from 18 to 19 to be sold tobacco and e-cigarettes, both of which were the first in the Nation.

Starting in 2014, GASP’s Tobacco Control Policy Resource Center has singlehandedly served as the go-to educational nonprofit to more than 15 New Jersey municipalities that have raised the age of sale to 21 for tobacco and ESDs in their communities, and more than 10 municipalities that require ESD retailers obtain a retail license to sell ESDs from the local health department since the State does not track ESD sales for compliance with State law. For years, GASP has served as the leading New Jersey nonprofit to provide educational resources on the benefits of smokefree parks and beaches to hundreds of municipalities and counties combined, along with a myriad of other types of tobacco control laws

Our organization’s activities support initiatives in other U.S. States, as well as globally in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Recently, GASP served as the leading nonprofit educational resource provider to New York City on its smokefree city parks law, adding e-cigarettes to its indoor smoking ban, and raising the age to 21 to be sold tobacco.

Starting in 2009, GASP has been a Project Partner in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s Tobacco-Diabetes Integration Project. We provided New Jersey-specific resource information on tobacco prevention and diabetes, and offered advocacy training modules on tobacco control advocacy to diabetes prevention partners. In 2011, we became a founding member of Tobacco-Free for a Healthy New Jersey, a statewide tobacco control effort.

GASP is sought out by the media for our expertise.  In 2015, on a more than weekly average, GASP was quoted in print, radio or television media for our expertise. Coverage ranges from nationally in the Washington Post and New York Times, to our home state’s New Jersey Star-Ledger and local news outlets. GASP does radio and television interviews for regional and local on ABC, NBC, WMBC and NJTV. See our webpage “GASP in the News”, our Facebook page and GASP You Tube channel.

GASP is fortunate to have loyal members, dedicated management and staff, a prestigious Board of Trustees led by our President Fred M. Jacobs, M.D., J.D. (former NJ Commissioner of Health and Senior Services), and an exemplary Advisory Board. Learn more about GASP by reading President Jacob’s message, our goals and methods and grants and awards given to GASP. View and like our up-to-date Facebook page, for up-to-date news on GASP, and to see photographs from our successful Gala and past Member Meeting.

Join GASP as a member, give a gift membership, or make a tax-deductible donation. We are a 501(c)(3) organization. Thank you for your support!

Karen Blumenfeld, Esq.

Executive Director