State Of Tobacco Control: Laguna Beach's Grade

LAGUNA BEACH, CA — California leads the nation in its tobacco control policies, but in a community-by-community breakdown, the majority of southern California city grades remain in the C and below grade-range, the American Lung Association said Wednesday in its State of Tobacco Control 2018 report.

California's grades improved to become the best in the nation thanks to strong policies across the state and the enactment of the new tobacco tax increase approved by voters, the association said in a statement.

"This year, California began reaping the financial and health benefits of an increased tobacco tax," said Mark Johnson, Board Chair for the American Lung Association in California.

The hundreds of millions in increased tobacco taxes from Proposition 56 now flowing to critical state health and prevention programs lead to a big grade increase for California, the report stated.

The state received an A grade for funding for state tobacco prevention programs, up from an F in 2016. California's grade for smoking cessation services also improved from an F to a C.
California's 2018 Grades also included:

- Funding for State Tobacco Prevention Programs -- A up from an F in 2016.
- Smokefree Air Policies -- A.
- Level of Tobacco Taxes -- B.
- Minimum Age of Sale for Tobacco Products to 21 - B.
- Coverage and Access to Services to Quit Tobacco - C up from an F in 2017.

In conjunction with the national report, the American Lung Association in California released its companion State of Tobacco Control 2018, which issues grades for all 482 cities and 58 counties in California on local tobacco control policies.

According to that report, a record number of 10 communities improved their overall grade to an A, and California now has a total of 31 communities with an overall A grade. Additionally, 17 fewer communities received an overall F grade compared to last year.

Over the past year, the city of Laguna Beach remained a standout, with the American Lung Association focusing on high school students who wanted to take action and make a difference. According to the report, Laguna Beach's significant smokefree policies to reduce secondhand smoke in the parks, sidewalks and parking areas raised community grades and made a lasting impact for the lives of residents. Last year's grade of "F" was a wake up call to residents, according to the City Manager's office.

"Laguna Beach seemed like a catalyst in Orange County. Now cities are going back and looking at their ordinances to see what they can do to protect the public health of their residents and
visitors,” Ryan Hallett of the Laguna Beach City Manager’s Office said. "I was really impressed with the Lung Association’s willingness to provide resources that assisted city staff in the development of the ordinance."

Cities in Orange County fell primarily in the failing D or F category, including: Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Buean Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Dana Point, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Lake Forest, Los Alamitos, Orange, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster, Yorba Linda and Unincorporated Orange County.

Squeaking by with a C: Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods and Santa Ana.

But there is hope on the horizon. Aliso Viejo improved their outdoor air over lat year's report, as did Placentia. Cities like Laguna Beach in Orange County and Bell Gardens and Bell in Los Angeles County passed smokefree policies that will improve public health, the report found. In 2019, Dana Point will join the smokefree cities, with their recently passed smokefree city policies.

In Orange County only Laguna Beach, Laga Hills and Laguna Woods scored an A in outdoor air. The city of Laguna Beach's past handling of keeping common areas smoke free lowered their grade to C, in that department, however with new smoke free laws passed the city expects to see improvement in that category for 2019. Areas where the city lost points include non-smoking common areas, and second hand smoke.

But despite all these successes, half of California's population still live in communities scoring a D or F. This includes nearly half of the 10 most populous cities in the state, including Anaheim.

"Los Angeles and Long Beach remain in the middle of the pack with C grades," the report said.

"Smoking rates continue to decline in California, yet tobacco use remains the state' leading cause of preventable death and disease, killing nearly 40,000 Californians each year," said Vanessa Marvin, a vice president at the American Lung Association in California.

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