The American Lung Association released its State of Tobacco Control report last week, scoring Santa Barbara County with a “B” for overall tobacco control—no thanks to North County.
On a city level, Santa Maria, Solvang, Lompoc, and Guadalupe were each slapped with “F” grades for overall tobacco control, and Buellton earned a “D.” The Lung Association determined these grades based on city policies regarding tobacco control.
Assessed policies included those pertaining to smoke-free outdoor air, smoke-free housing, reduced sales of tobacco products, and emerging tobacco-related issues, such as retailer location restrictions and the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies.
Ravi Choudhuri, advocacy manager for the American Lung Association in California, said the report aims to educate residents about their city’s efforts to curb tobacco use.
“It’s to see what local policies and state policies are enacted to help residents from the deadly tolls of tobacco exposure,” Choudhuri said.
The Lung Association assigned Santa Barbara County’s grade based on tobacco control policies in unincorporated areas, said Maria Bernabe, director of marketing and communications at the Lung Association. This is why the county received a “B” for overall tobacco control, though many of its cities received failing grades. The county met Lung Association standards with its strong policies on smoke-free outdoor air, tobacco retailer licenses, and smoke-free common areas in multi-unit housing.
In order for the cities to improve their individual scores, Choudhuri said they would have to pass policies at the municipal level to meet Lung Association criteria.
But Santa Barbara isn’t the only Californian county to struggle with tobacco-related issues, Choudhuri said. The state as a whole, once a leader in the push for tobacco control, has stalled in its efforts.
“We are going down in our grading, and the reason why is that certain policies aren’t being passed at the municipal level,” Choudhuri said. The most prominent such policy is tobacco tax.
He said California is at “the bottom of the barrel” in terms of its tobacco tax, which the report ranked 35th out of the 50 states.
Choudhuri said California last increased its tobacco tax in 1999, to 87 cents per pack. The Lung Association’s current goal is to get a $2-per-pack tax on the November 2016 ballot.
“That revenue will help expand services for medical, tobacco-related illnesses,” Choudhuri said, “and things that will really prevent lung disease and lung-related issues concerning tobacco exposure.”
He added that studies have shown raising tobacco taxes is the best way to reduce smoking and keep children from becoming lifetime smokers.
Santa Barbara County residents can contribute their efforts by gathering together, voicing their opinions, and casting their votes, Choudhuri said.
“What we really need to do is garner support with our local community members, saying that this is a really big issue,” he said. “Lung disease, lung health, lung cancer—all these things affect everyone. As individual community members, we have to come together and voice our opinion on how big of an issue this is.”
This article appears in Feb 11-18, 2016.
