American Lung Association releases annual report for state,
counties
The American Lung Association released its annual tobacco grades
Jan. 12, including statewide marks for California as well as
individual grades for counties and cities in the state. San Benito
County received an A for its efforts at reducing sales of tobacco
products for its tobacco retailer licensing program, but received
no points in two other categories
– promoting smokefree housing and smokefree outdoor air.
American Lung Association releases annual report for state, counties
The American Lung Association released its annual tobacco grades Jan. 12, including statewide marks for California as well as individual grades for counties and cities in the state. San Benito County received an A for its efforts at reducing sales of tobacco products for its tobacco retailer licensing program, but received no points in two other categories – promoting smokefree housing and smokefree outdoor air.
Paul Knepprath, the vice president for advocacy and health initiatives for the American Lung Association in California, said this is the second year the agency has been grading all the counties statewide, though it has graded the state and some larger cities for seven years.
“This is the second year we’ve had a comprehensive grading for local municipalities in California,” he said, of the nonprofit advocacy group’s annual report card. “The goal is really to raise public awareness about the impact of tobacco and the need to do more to raise our grades to address the impact it has in our communities.”
He added that the grade is designed as a tool to educate local elected officials and the public on how they measure up in three areas.
“We conduct the grades by looking at the city and county codes so we are looking at what policies are on the books – not judging cities or counties,” he said.
Originally, the ALA staff gave San Benito County a grade of F overall, but Public Health staff contacted the organization and showed proof of a strict tobacco retail licensing policy on the books for the county. Their grade was updated from an F to an A in that category, increasing their overall grade to a D.
Statewide, California received an A for smokefree air policies, a D for cessation coverage (which includes health coverage that can help people stop smoking), a D for the state cigarette tax and an F for tobacco prevention and control spending.
“Tobacco remains California’s No. 1 public health problem in terms of people dying from it, than any other cause,” Knepprath said. “We need to do more about reducing our risk to tobacco.”
California received an A for smokefree air, and Knepprath said the state has been a nationwide leader in eliminated smoking from indoor areas.
But there are other areas that need improvement, he said. One of the things the ALA is focusing on for the coming year is sponsoring a California cancer research act that would increase the cigarette tax from $.87 to $1.34 per pack, with the additional money going to cancer research and prevention.
The ALA staff would most like to see municipalities focus on reducing the sale of tobacco products and providing more smokefree public places, such as parks and recreation areas. Another focus is creating smokefree units in multi-unit housing developments.
“It is a relatively new policy area,” Knepprath said, of smokefree housing. “We have been dealing with drifting cigarette smoke. Almost a third of us live in condos or apartments in California so a lot of people are affected by it. It’s probably the next wave [of policy.]”
In San Benito County, the Tobacco Education Coalition works with the Public Health Department to select three-year objectives for tobacco policy. Some of the members of the coalition include the Office of Education, Hollister School District, San Benito High School’s Tob-action program, San Benito County Healthy Pathways for Children, Gavilan College, the Salvation Army, San Benito County Behavioral Health, Hollister Youth Alliance, City of Hollister code enforcement, Jovenes de Antano, the San Benito County probation department and the Binational Center for the Development of Oaxacan Indigenous Communities.
For the last three years staff worked with the coalition on implementing smokefree policies at migrant housing centers in San Benito County. The county did not receive points on the ALA report, however, because the policies are an agreement between the housing owners and managers and tenants, rather than based on a city or county ordinance.
“It was approved by the owners and managers,” said Carlos Lopez, of the San Benito Public Health Tobacco education program. “[ALA] doesn’t consider that because it wasn’t approved by the [board of] supervisors.”
Lopez said that the objectives for the coming three years have already been selected by the coalition and they are based on the perceived needs in the community, not necessarily the items on which the ALA grades communities in its annual report. In June, the coalition will begin work on promoting smokefree daycare facilities in the county and tobacco prevention curriculum in the middle schools.
Knepprath said the ALA is open to working with cities or counties that want to improve their grade in the coming year.
“We have been involved for more than 25 years in passing local laws to create smokefree environments,” he said. “We’ve worked with some cities such as Richmond that went from two Fs and a D to having straight As in 2009. We partnered with the city and worked with them to rally support for them passing ordinances that gave them straight As.”
Making the grade
The American Lung Association graded California cities and counties on the following criteria to come up with their tobacco grades. Points are awarded only when a city or county has an ordinance on the books in reference to one of the items. For the full report, visit www.californialung.org/sotc-ca-local.
Smokefree Outdoor Air
Dining
Entryways
Public events
Recreation areas
Service areas
Sidewalks
Smokefree housing
Nonsmoking units
Nonsmoking common areas
Disclosure Nuisance
Reducing sales of tobacco products
Tobacco retailer licensing
Conditional Use permits
Sales in pharmacies
Sampling of tobacco products
