Colorado health and well-being policies recognized

Denver once again earned an overall gold medal from CityHealth for its adoption of policies that address critical health disparities and enhance residents’ access to healthy options. Aurora improved its medal ranking to silver. Colorado Springs is at the bronze level.

CityHealth, an initiative of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, annually evaluates 75 of America’s largest cities for quality and strength of 12 evidence-based policies to improve health. Denver was 1 of 7 cities to earn an overall gold medal for 2024.

"Good policy boosts public health and creates good outcomes for everyone in our community," said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. "I'm incredibly proud that our work to increase access to stable housing, invest in our green spaces, and build common sense public policy to protect our youth has been recognized, and I look forward to continuing to pass good policy that creates a better, more vibrant life for Denverites."

Jeff Krawcek, MD, president and executive medical director of Kaiser Permanente in Colorado, congratulated the cities for their recognitions.

“We applaud the efforts of Denver, Aurora, and Colorado Springs for their leadership in adopting policies that strengthen community health,” said Dr. Krawcek. “As a pediatrician, I’ve seen firsthand how these policies improve the health of our patients and communities. These cities are setting a strong example of how thoughtful policy can drive meaningful health outcomes.”

Strengthening restrictions on flavored tobacco

Denver holds gold medals across 5 of the individual policies CityHealth assesses, and it just took a major step to strengthen its standing. On December 18, 2024, Mayor Johnston signed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. The policy also covers e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco products, and cigars. Ending the sale of flavored tobacco can reduce use of these dangerous and addictive products. And ultimately, it supports the well-being of everyone.

As one of the largest nonprofit health organizations in the state, Kaiser Permanente was proud to be a part of the coalition supporting the bill. Kaiser Permanente hopes the bill will reduce youth access to tobacco products, mitigate health disparities, and support the health of our communities.

More than 81% of youth tobacco users started with a flavored product, according to the National Institutes of Health. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids estimates the state’s health system spends $2.19 billion per year treating tobacco-related health issues.

“These CityHealth medals show that leaders in Denver, Aurora, and Colorado Springs are building health equity through policy,” said Mike Ramseier, regional president of Kaiser Permanente in Colorado. “They share our commitment to improving public health by reducing proven risks to the health of the community.”

Individual gold medals Denver won in 2024 include:

• Affordable Housing Trusts
• Earned Sick Leave
• Greenspace
• Safer Alcohol Sales
• Smoke-Free Indoor Air

Denver also earned a silver medal for Legal Support of Renters and bronze medals for Eco-Friendly Purchasing, Healthy Food Purchasing, and High-Quality, Accessible Pre-K programs.

Aurora won medals for:

• Affordable Housing Trusts (gold)
• Earned Sick Leave (gold)
• Safer Alcohol Sales (gold)
• Smoke-Free Indoor Air (gold)
• Greenspace (silver)
• High-Quality, Accessible Pre-K (bronze)

Colorado Springs earned medals for:

• Affordable Housing Trusts (gold)
• Earned Sick Leave (gold)
• Safer Alcohol Sales (gold)
• Smoke-Free Indoor Air (gold)
• High-Quality, Accessible Pre-K (bronze)

Learn more about the public health threat of vaping.