State Attorneys General: Allies in Obesity Prevention

State attorneys general (AGs), charged with enforcing the laws of their states, have both the motivation and authority to help promote and enforce public health policy. Not only do they mediate consumer complaints and investigate possible violations of the law, but they can also bring litigation that highlights the need for policy change or gaps in regulatory protection.

In partnership with the Public Health Law Center at William Mitchell College of Law, we wrote these fact sheets to explain how to work with state AGs’ offices to advance public health goals. While our focus here is how state AGs can support changes to problematic food and beverage marketing practices, the information about their authority and activities can be applied to a range of public health issues, from tobacco control to workplace safety to health care fraud.