By Khalida Sarwari
The grades are in, and they’re not exactly worth hanging up on the fridge. In the American Lung Association’s 2014 report on tobacco control policies, Saratoga received two Ds and an F, but elected officials say those grades are not reflective of the city’s efforts.
The State of Tobacco Control report released on Jan. 22 gave Saratoga an overall D mark for the fifth consecutive year based on the city’s policies related to smoke-free outdoor air, smoke-free housing and efforts to reduce the sale of tobacco products.
Most of the other 15 cities in Santa Clara County did not fare much better. With the exception of Campbell, which received a B, and San Jose, which earned a C, the 12 other cities were given a grade of D or F.
Cities were evaluated for smoke-free outdoor air, reducing sales of tobacco products and smoke-free housing. Saratoga earned a D in the first two and an F in the last category.
Saratoga Mayor Emily Lo believes the report doesn’t take into account the city’s efforts to address the tobacco-related issues unique to the community or the effectiveness of measures to reduce tobacco use or exposure to secondhand smoke.
“This American Lung Association report is a general standard that applies to every city in California,” said Lo. “I think as a city we have to look at things which are unique to our city and not just adopt an overall standard.”
Lo pointed to a county assessment released last summer in which the city received a far better grade. The Santa Clara County Tobacco Environment Report Card, which gave Saratoga an A for adopting policies that address tobacco-related problems, uses a more realistic scoring system and is consistent with the city’s existing regulations, Lo said.
Passed in 2009, the city’s ordinance requires tobacco retailers to obtain a conditional use permit and limits the density of tobacco retailers near each other, schools and parks. In 2010, the city adopted a smoke-free recreational areas ordinance that bans the use of tobacco products in city parks and recreational areas.
Most of Saratoga’s tobacco control efforts are directed at preventing access to minors, Lo said. One such example is the decoy operations that are conducted by the sheriff’s department.
“According to the sheriff’s department, they encounter very little non-compliance as far as tobacco-related problems are concerned,” said the mayor. “Our retailers and our residents are law-abiding citizens.”
The American Lung Association’s annual report issues grades for all 50 states and the federal government on tobacco control policies. This year’s report coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health, which linked smoking to lung cancer and other diseases.
The 2014 State of Tobacco Control report found that reducing tobacco use has “all but stalled in most cities and counties in the Greater Bay Area,” and that “despite great strides in reducing smoking rates in America, tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and illness in the U.S.,” according to the ALA.
To view the complete California report, including grades for Bay Area cities and counties, visitlung.org/california.
