Calexico stands out in report on tobacco control

SACRAMENTO — An annual report identifying California as a national leader in efforts to reduce and prevent tobacco use also identified the city of Calexico as the most proactive city in Imperial County in terms of tobacco control.

The American Lung Association’s 2019 State of Tobacco Control report, which was released Jan. 30, assigned California high marks for its efforts in five key policy areas:

• Smoke-free air policies: A

• Funding for state tobacco prevention programs: B

• Level of state tobacco taxes: B

• Coverage and access to services to quit tobacco: B

• Minimum age of sale for tobacco products to 21: B

Meanwhile, Calexico stood out as one of the few rural communities in the state to receive an overall B grade. El Centro received a D, and all other cities and unincorporated areas in Imperial County received F grades.

Overall, 268 state communities (50 percent) received F grades; 86 (16 percent) received D’s; 96 (18 percent) received C’s; 48 (9 percent) received B’s, and 39 (7 percent) received A’s.

While California received solid grades in many areas, the report noted a steep rise youth e-cigarette usage that approached “epidemic” levels. High school e-cigarette usage increased 78 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey.

“This equals 1 million additional kids beginning to use e-cigarettes, placing their developing bodies and lungs at risk from the chemicals in e-cigarettes as well as a lifetime of addiction to a deadly product,” the American Lung Association said in a release. “This has caused the U.S. Surgeon General to declare e-cigarette use among young people an epidemic in an Advisory issued in December 2018.”

Debra Kelley, advocacy director for the American Lung Association in California, said the methodology for the study, which began nationally in 2005 and which the state office started breaking down by county in 2010, is a policy-analysis approach that involves examining municipal and county codes (most are online these days) to determine what kinds of tobacco control policies have been adopted in each of California’s 540 local jurisdictions.

“No action is required from jurisdictions,” she said in an email, “but we do reach out to Local Lead Agencies for Tobacco Control (typically the public health department in each county) to ask them to verify the information.”

Kelley said Imperial County’s grades and scores were the same this year as they were in 2018.

Maria Peinado, public health information officer for the Imperial County Department of Public Health said 14.7 percent of the county’s adults and 15.4 percent of its youth still smoke. Both rates are higher than average, she said.

Citing studies that show smoke-free laws which prohibit smoking in public places help improve public health, Peinado noted two recent examples of local efforts to curb exposure to secondhand smoke.

In June 2017, the City of El Centro amended its ordinance No. 17-09 expanding its smoking ban to more than just public transit facilities, she said. The ordinance now prohibits smoking in public places, including outdoor areas used to conduct public events, specified areas of health facilities, retail stores, including grocery stores and supermarkets, and recreation halls, among other places.

Peinado also noted El Centro Regional Medical Center’s introduction of its Smoke and Tobacco Product-Free Policy in August 2017. That policy eliminated tobacco use in all of ECRMC’s properties.

“Members of the Coalition for a Tobacco-free Imperial County are highly encouraging others to follow the City of El Centro’s and ECRMC’s lead in making healthy changes in our community,” she said. “Great strides have been made, but there is much more to be done.”

It’s also important to note the critical role stores play in communities’ health, Peinado said.

“Stores impact the economic well-being of neighborhoods and physical health of the people who visit them. The types of stores we have in our community, the types of products available in the stores and how they are promoted influence us all, but especially our kids,” she said. “Many of these products, like tobacco, contribute to lifelong chronic health issues.”

Peinado said cities can work closely with stores and its residents to help reduce youth access to tobacco, ensure compliance with tobacco-related laws, and limit the negative public health effects associated with tobacco use by establishing or strengthening local tobacco retailer licensing policies.

“Licensing is a common tool that may be used to protect public health and safety by ensuring that retailers comply with responsible retailing practices,” she said, citing a 2016 Healthy Stores Healthy for a Healthy Community campaign survey that said 51.8 percent of Imperial County stores in low-income areas sell tobacco products, which is 20.6 percent higher than the state average. Additionally, more than 60 percent sold electronic smoking devices (a 10 percent increase from 2013); more than 65 percent sold smokeless tobacco and menthol cigarettes, and almost one in three stores sold tobacco products near schools.

Reducing sales of tobacco products through tobacco retailer licensing is a policy area in which the city of Calexico received an A in the American Lung Association study.

“People in Calexico, especially children, enjoy healthier and safer smoke-free environments,” said ALA’s Kelley. “They don’t have to walk through a cloud of secondhand smoke when they walk into a building. They can enjoy an outdoor dining experience without a side of secondhand smoke. They can take their kids to smoke-free parks. They can enjoy smoke-free public events such as farmers markets and street fairs. They can sit by the pool in their apartment building or condo complex and enjoy smoke-free air, and they can be confident that retailers will be held accountable for selling tobacco products to minors.”

Cities and community members interested in learning more about local tobacco-control efforts and/or the Tobacco Coalition may contact Fernanda Lynch with the local Tobacco Education Project at fernandalynch@co.imperial.ca.us or (442) 265-1476.