Saratoga Receives an 'A' Grade for Smoking Cessation Efforts

SARATOGA, CA -- The City of Saratoga and Santa Clara County have improved their policies toward reducing the use of tobacco, as have a handful of other Bay Area, cities according to a report released Jan. 25 by the American Lung Association.

The report, titled "State of Tobacco Control 2017 - California Local Grades," gives grades to communities based on their tobacco control policies, which aim to reduce tobacco use.

The City of Saratoga and Santa Clara County were among seven Bay Area jurisdictions with an A grade; the others are El Cerrito, Daly City, Berkeley, Dublin and Union City.

Six other jurisdictions -- Brisbane, East Palo Alto, Los Gatos, Orinda, San Bruno, and Sunnyvale -- were identified as "on the rise" because they improved their grades by passing or revising smoke-free outdoor area policies and smoke-free housing policies.

Santa Clara County is among the leaders in the nation in addressing emerging issues; it became the first area in the U.S. to restrict the sale of menthol and other flavored tobacco products to adults 21 and older.

While it and some other Bay Area regions have strong policies, unincorporated Solano County and all but one of its cities received F grades for their lack of tobacco control policies. Vallejo was the only Solano County community to receive a grade other than F in the report; it received a D.

Also, none of the most populous Bay Area cities, including Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose received A grades.

Grades are awarded in three categories, including smoke-free outdoor air areas, smoke-free housing and reducing sales of tobacco products.

Bonus points are awarded to communities that have policies to address emerging issues such as menthol and flavored tobacco products. The report says those products lure teens and residents of lower income
communities into the habit of using tobacco.

"Tobacco-related illnesses remain the single most preventable cause of disease and death in California and strong policies reduce smoking rates and exposure to secondhand smoke and protect our children from a
lifetime of addiction," Di Giorgio said.

American Lung Association officials said California communities have room to improve, including by creating policies to prevent exposure to secondhand smoke in multi-unit housing, where some people with asthma and lung cancer live.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock