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The Â鶹´«Ã½ (SCPH) Karen O'Rourke, M.P.H., SCPH, associate director, and Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.H.S., associate professor, presented a webinar titled, "Childhood Exposure to Marketing in Schools: How to Change the Scene," for the annual winter webinar series.

Their presentation explored how non-nutritious food and beverage marketing in schools reinforces marketing outside of school, threatens health and conflicts with the purpose and values of education. Maine schools, like most U.S. schools, are rife with this kind of marketing even though a there is a statewide law banning it.

O'Rourke and Polacsek examined the resources and tactics necessary to remove unhealthy food and beverage marketing from three Portland schools. Additionally, the Cumberland Public Health Council Obesity Work Group, in Cumberland County Maine, partnered with public health advocates and the beverage industry to identify and replace all non-compliant school owned scoreboard advertising throughout the county at no cost to schools. Their presentation discussed how community partnerships that include the beverage industry could help schools comply with the law at no cost and with minimal effort required of school administrators.