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Vermont Department of Health urges planners to use land‑use tools to reduce youth substance access
Summary
VDH presenters shared BRFSS, YRBS and a 2025 retail audit showing retailer proximity and advertising near schools, outlined community risk factors such as poverty and housing instability, and recommended municipal options including event limits and retailer buffers; VDH offered technical assistance to planners.
The Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission’s Planning Advisory Committee heard a presentation from Melissa Needham and Nick Tatakis of the Vermont Department of Health on December 17 about land‑use approaches to preventing substance misuse.
Needham and Tatakis summarized statewide surveillance tools used to identify public‑health problems — including the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) — and reviewed findings from the 2025 Vermont Tobacco and Alcohol Retail Audit. Tatakis told the committee youth tobacco and substance‑use measures are generally trending downward, but the retail environment remains a concern.
VDH staff described several concrete risk factors at the community scale: retail density near sensitive sites, low neighborhood attachment, household mobility and unstable housing, and concentrated poverty. The presenters said the 2025 retail audit found that about 1 in 17 tobacco retailers are located within 500 feet of schools, and roughly 1 in 5 are within 1,000 feet; retailers near schools were more likely to have exterior advertising and price deals.
To address those risks, Tatakis described a combination of individual and environmental strategies framed by the national CADCA model: provide information and social supports, reduce barriers and increase positive incentives, alter the physical environment and change policy and rules. Examples cited for municipal planning and regulatory tools included limiting substance use at community events and on municipal property; requiring buffers or distance minimums to reduce outlet density near schools and day‑care sites; and evaluating accessibility of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis sales as part of local planning.
"VDH can help with this," Needham said, offering to share updated resources and technical assistance with RPC staff and municipal planners. CCRPC staff noted the commission has previously provided mapping of retail locations and can support local evaluations.
The presenters encouraged communities to update older Health Impact Assessment materials and to reach out to VDH for tailored data. Needham and Tatakis also noted that product types and retail channels are changing — including new, more concealable tobacco products and online availability — which affects local prevention strategies.
The department left a list of resources and offered follow up; Tatakis departed the meeting at 3:15 p.m.
