San Benito County has one of the lowest rates of smoking among
rural counties, according to the results of the California Tobacco
Survey released Dec. 20 by the California Department of Public
Health.
San Benito County has one of the lowest rates of smoking among rural counties, according to the results of the California Tobacco Survey released Dec. 20 by the California Department of Public Health.
San Benito has a prevalence of 12.1 percent, according to the survey, conducted in 2008. The rate is down from 15.9 in 1999.
In San Benito County, Carlos Lopez, the San Benito County Tobacco Education project manager, works with the Tobacco Education Coalition to lower the rate of smoking. In past years the coalition has implemented an ordinance requiring a retailer licensing fee to sell cigarettes to prevent the sale to minors. The group has also implemented a voluntary smoke-free policy at county migrant camps.
This year, the Coalition has been focused on implementing a smoke-free policy for licensed home daycare centers and is creating an anti- tobacco curriculum to use in the middle schools. Lopez said the Coalition is always looking for new members, especially community members who may want to get involved.
One thing Lopez would like to see California counties focus on is lobbying the Food and Drug Administration to ban menthol cigarettes, which he said target young smokers. The FDA has banned flavored cigarettes.
He added that an increased cigarette tax may make people question why they smoke or persuade them to try harder to quit. The tax on cigarettes in California is 87 cents per pack, the 30th-highest tax rate among states.
Other nearby counties had higher rates than San Benito. Santa Cruz had a rate of 12.4 percent while Monterey had a rate of 13.3 percent.
Overall the state rate is 13.1 percent, which has gone down 40 percent since the passage of Proposition 99, in 1988. The proposition added a cigarette tax for use in tobacco education and prevention efforts.
Although the smoking prevalence in San Benito County is low, other rural counties did not fare as well. Tehama, a county considered comparable in size, had a rate of 22.8 percent.
See the full story in the Pinnacle on Friday.
