Tobacco Control Report Card: A or F?

For the second year in a row, a county coalition has awarded Milpitas, along with Mountain View and Saratoga, highest marks in tobacco-control efforts among cities in Santa Clara County. 

But nationwide, Milpitas failed to make the grade, according to the American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control report card for 2010.           

So where does the city stand on tobacco control?

The 2010-2011 Community's Health on Tobacco Report Card based its grade on tobacco advertising and displays and preventing youth access to tobacco. Points were awarded for a high compliance rate with window-advertising regulations, enforcement of underage tobacco sales laws and creation of policies requiring a tobacco retailer license.

The objective is to monitor tobacco-control policies and encourage enforcement efforts among its cities. The Milpitas Police Department conducted a decoy operation earlier this year to make sure tobacco vendors were in compliance with proof-of-ID and window-advertising regulations. Only one vendor was found in violation and was given a warning, according to Sgt. Daryl Sequeria.

The city of Milpitas Municipal Code prohibits smoking within 25 feet of a public facility, concession stands, bleachers, playground, athletic field, tennis or basketball court and city vehicles.

The American Lung Association's State of Tobacco report for 2010 took a strict look at the city ordinances and gave points for restrictions on smoking, including in these places:

• Service areas where people stand or wait in line, such as public transit stops or ATM lines.
• Outdoor public events, like fairs, farmers markets, parades and concerts.

Cities were awarded bonus points for having gone above and beyond ALA’s standards by enforcing smoking restrictions within the following: 

• Pedestrian walkways in commercial areas.
• Outdoor places of employment.

Criteria for smoke-free housing included: 

• Restricting smoke in outdoor common areas in multi-unit housing units, including areas where smoking is allowed.
• Designating non-smoking units within multi-unit housing units. 

Bonus points were given to cities that did the following:

• Declared involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke a nuisance.
• Required a certain percentage of multi-unit housing under the city or county housing authority to be nonsmoking.

Cities can reduce tobacco product sales even further—and gain bonus points on the tobacco control report card—by doing the following: 

• Requiring businesses that sell tobacco to apply for a tobacco retail license that must be renewed annually.
• Restricting the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies.
• Banning the distribution of tobacco product samples.

Milpitas scored few points based on this criteria and failed the report card—as did two-thirds of cities in California.

So who got an "A"? Santa Clara County. The board of supervisors has adopted policies that require—in unincorporated areas—a percentage of multi-unit housing to be nonsmoking. The board also placed tighter restrictions on smoking in public areas and passed the Tobacco Retailer Permit Ordinance in November 2010.

The new laws require retailers that sell tobacco in unincorporated areas to obtain and maintain an annual permit. New retail outlets would be prohibited from selling tobacco if they operate in a pharmacy or are located within 1,000 feet of a school or within 500 feet of another tobacco retailer.

The new laws prohibit smoking at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, outdoor shopping malls, all county parks, in hotels and motels, and at retail stores that exclusively sell tobacco and smoking products, as well as smoking within 30 feet of any outdoor service area, such as a ticket line. Smoking is also now banned in duplexes, condominium and townhouse complexes, and apartment buildings.      

The ALA is quick to point out in defense of its rigorous grading system that tobacco is still the No. 1 source of preventable disease and death in California. Tobacco has been shown to cause cancer, heart disease, respiratory diseases and infant death. Approximately one death out of every five in the U.S. is attributed to smoking each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 2008. An estimated 49,000 of these deaths are caused by secondhand smoke.

“If you believe that passing these laws is a valid way to protect people, you should look at the possibilities," said Serena Chen, ALA policy advocacy director for California.

“It’s not like we’re punishing the cities," she said. "We’re just looking at how cities are protecting the citizens … this is how they compare.”