Despite ALA grade, San Benito has made strides on tobacco
policy
In at least one case, getting a
”
D
”
on a test isn’t all that bad.
That was San Benito County’s score on the American Lung
Association’s annual grades given to cities and counties throughout
the state. It’s part of an effort to spread awareness about the
impact of tobacco products and encourage local-level leaders to
improve their marks.
Despite ALA grade, San Benito has made strides on tobacco policy
In at least one case, getting a “D” on a test isn’t all that bad.
That was San Benito County’s score on the American Lung Association’s annual grades given to cities and counties throughout the state. It’s part of an effort to spread awareness about the impact of tobacco products and encourage local-level leaders to improve their marks.
A “D” – in this case – is better than two-thirds of the graded communities, so that in itself is an achievement of sorts for the San Benito County Public Health Department and the many local agencies in the Tobacco Education Coalition.
It’s also an indicator that the county has gone above and beyond to an extraordinary degree in one area of the annual report with a strict tobacco retail licensing policy, which shows more awareness than most California jurisdictions, at least according to the American Lung Association.
With these types of subjective, awareness-driven comparisons, it’s important to remember that every local jurisdiction is different and, therefore, the chosen policies and strategies are going to vary from county to county. What works in Kern County might not work here. What works here might not work as well there. What’s a priority there might not be as big of a priority here, and the same goes for the relationship between the American Lung Association’s intentionally idealistic goals and local policies.
The extra effort that garnered San Benito County a “D” instead of the most popular “F” grade was the health department’s aggressive enforcement of retailer licensing – which has been increasingly successful in reducing sales of tobacco products.
There also might be efforts particular to an area that just don’t fit under the report card’s umbrella of categories.
One of those in San Benito County is a good example. For the past three years, public health and the Tobacco Coalition members have worked aggressively toward implementing smoke-free policies for migrant housing centers in San Benito County.Those strides weren’t included in the American Lung Association report, however, because the policies are an agreement between owners, managers and tenants – rather than being based on city or county laws.
It shows a city or county doesn’t necessarily have to follow all of the national organization’s guidelines – which are well-rooted and often successful in getting the point across to government leaders – to make improvements to public health in San Benito County.
