American Lung Association in California Grades More than 400 of the State's Cities and Counties on How Well They Are Protecting Their Citizens from Tobacco
American Lung Association in California (ALAC) joined civic leaders, medical professionals and local residents of the city of Richmond to release its annual State of Tobacco Control report card for cities and counties throughout the state of California. Municipalities were graded on their ordinances covering smokefree outdoor environments, smokefree housing and tobacco sales reductions.
The ALAC report coincides with the release of the State of Tobacco Control 2009 national report card that grades the federal government, all 50 states and the District of Columbia. A full copy of the national report is available at www.stateoftobaccocontrol.org.
Citing mixed results at every level for the state, ALAC President and CEO Jane Warner said, "It's time to raise the grade. For all Californians, strong tobacco control policies must be a top priority."
Once a national leader in battling the lethal effects of tobacco, California again received an F for the state's failure to adequately fund tobacco prevention and control programs, currently at less than one-fifth the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended level. While the report gave California high marks for state laws that protect the public from secondhand smoke in enclosed public places and workplaces, the state received D's for its failure to raise the tobacco tax and provide cessation treatment and services to help people quit smoking. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, California now ranks 32nd for its $.87 per pack tax, far below the national average of $1.34.
With nearly 4 million smokers in California, tobacco use continues to take a significant toll on public health and taxpayer dollars. Tobacco remains the number one preventable cause of death in California, claiming an estimated 36,684 lives annually. That's more people lost to tobacco use than alcohol, HIV/AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined. For the state, the costs of tobacco use top more than $18 billion every year.
Fortunately, many individual communities are making headway on this critical issue. More than 370 cities across California have been graded on (1) Smokefree Outdoor Air; (2) Smokefree Housing; and (3) Reducing Sales of Tobacco Products. These three grades have been averaged for one overall local tobacco control grade.
"The stakes are too high to gamble with complacency," said Warner. "In Los Angeles County, cities like Calabasas and Glendale highlight what can be – and has been – done when awareness is combined with commitment. Calabasas was the first city in the state to pass a comprehensive outdoor smoking ban and spurred efforts around the state to create smokefree outdoor spaces and multi-unit housing."
This year Calabasas passed a tobacco retailer licensing ordinance to raise its overall grade to an A, joining Glendale, Richmond and Albany as the four cities in the state with an A. In addition to boasting half of the overall A's in the state, the Los Angeles area is home to one-third of the overall B's.
While many other cities and counties around the state adopted strong tobacco control policies and improved their grades, a majority of municipalities are failing to protect their residents from the dangers of tobacco use. Fifty-five cities in the Los Angeles area earned F's for failing to protect residents against the lethal effects of tobacco.