Community Corner

Cities Lagging on Tobacco Control, New Study Finds

Despite considerable inroads in recent years to protect residents from smoke, many towns in Sonoma County still don't have ordinances that ban smoking in outdoor eating establishments, apartments and other public venues.

Sonoma County has a long way to go in the fight to create tobacco-free spaces including at restaurants, festivals and apartment complexes, according to a new report from the American Lung Association released this week.

The city of Sonoma received an F for its tobacco control efforts, while Petaluma, Healdsburg and Santa Rosa got a D from the organization, which assessed cities’ tobacco ordinances, considering factors like whether smoking was permitted at outdoor dining establishments, parks and apartments as well as the availability of tobacco products near schools and parks.

Meanwhile, Rohnert Park received a B, because it has more stringent tobacco control ordinances. For example, Rohnert Park does not allow smoking within 20 feet of restaurants as well as 20 feet from “service areas” like outdoor ATMs and bus stops and outdoor recreation venues like festivals. Petaluma and Sonoma, on the other hand, do not have ordinances that ban smoking at outdoor eating areas or entryways, and in Petaluma tobacco ordinances have not been updated since at least the mid-90s.

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“Both the municipality or property owners could regulate smoking on their premises, but they often don’t, either because they don’t realize they can or are afraid of pushback and want the city to support them,” said Pam Granger, a spokeswoman for the North Coast region of the American Lung Association of California.

Read the full report here.

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When it comes to protecting residents of apartment complexes from tobacco exposure, nearly all towns in the county do a dismal job, according to the new report. In fact, only Rohnert Park requires that at least 50 percent of its multi-unit housing ban smoking in outdoor areas.

But there is good news, too. All parks, trails and other recreation areas are smoke-free in Petaluma and Healdsburg, while no similar ordinances exist in Sonoma and Rohnert Park.

“What we’re seeing in the North Bay is that awareness is improving and there is significant action being taken by individuals,” Granger said.

As terrible as Sonoma County's grades are, they are actually better than many cities around the state. A whopping 66 percent of cities in California received an F, while another 16 percent got a D. Only 2 percent of cities--like Albany, Pasadena, Richmond and Union City--received an A from the group.

One of the goals of the report is to raise support for the California Cancer Research Act, which would increase the state’s tobacco tax by a dollar a pack, with revenues going to treatment, prevention and research of lung and heart disease, as well as stroke, cancer and other tobacco-related illnesses. 


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