By Hector Gonzalez
Staff Writer

January 22, 2015 -- Santa Monica -- which has long implemented measures to curb smoking -- received an A grade on the American Lung Association’s State of Tobacco Control 2015 report, the organization announced Wednesday.

The ALA’s annual report graded all 50 states on four key tobacco control policies -- tobacco control and prevention spending, smoke-free air, tobacco taxes and cessation coverage.

A separate, accompanying report issued grades for all 482 cities in 58 counties in California on their policies for smoke-free outdoor air, smoke-free housing, and reducing sales of tobacco products.

Santa Monica, which has been battling the harmful effects of second-hand smoking for more than a decade, was among just 13 cities or counties in the state that received an overall grade of A.

Among the 13 with top grades, Culver City raised its grade from F in 2014 to an A in the 2015 report, the report showed.

But 324 cities “did little or nothing” to control tobacco use and received F grades, Lung Association officials said.

“This year's report shows that much still needs to be done to protect citizens from the deadly effects of tobacco use,” association officials said.

It’s been 51 years since a1964 Surgeon General’s report first sounded the alarm on the dangers of smoking, but tobacco use “continues to kill almost half a million Americans each year,” while resulting in up to $333 billion in health care costs and lost productivity, officials said.

The organization called on “all levels of government” to reduce smoking rates, which now are at about 18 percent, to less than 10 percent by 2024.

Local, state and federal governments also should act “to protect all Americans from secondhand smoke by 2019, and ultimately eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco use.”

“The American Lung Association is urging states and the federal government to take needed steps to achieve these bold goals,” said Olivia  J. Gertz, ALA’s president and CEO.

“It’s no secret that to reduce tobacco use in the United States, our leaders need to muster the political will to implement proven policies. We cannot afford the health or financial consequences of their continued failure to act.”

Among the report’s key findings, progress in statewide tobacco control “is at a standstill in California,” which had been a leader in tobacco control efforts, association officials said.

California hasn’t increased its tobacco tax since 1999, and the state now ranks 33rd in tobacco taxes, “far behind states like New York, Illinois, Texas, Florida, Oregon and Washington,” according to association officials.

“Increasing the tobacco tax has been proven to reduce tobacco use,” Gertz said. “This is why the American Lung Association in California is standing with Save Lives California, a broad coalition dedicated to passing a lifesaving $2 per pack tobacco tax – either through the legislature or by ballot measure – by the end of 2016.”

Tobacco-related deaths are the single, most preventable cause of death in California. More than 21,300 children start smoking each year in the state, and tobacco costs California $18 billion – “a tremendous burden that the state cannot afford,” officials said.

“We have a lot of work to do to improve California’s tobacco control efforts and protect public health from tobacco-related illnesses,” said Gertz.

Santa Monica has long been in the forefront of the battle against smoking in public, citing reports on the dangerous effects of second-hand smoke.

In 2003, the beachside city was in the media spot light when the Council voted to outlaw smoking in public parks and prohibit smoking at bus stops and other public waiting areas, within 20 feet of all exits and entrances of public buildings and creates a system to enforce the new laws.
One year later, with news cameras trained on the dais, the Council approved an historic ordinance to ban smoking on the beach and partially restrict smoking on the pier.
In addition to banning smoking in many public areas, four years ago the City strengthened second-hand smoking protection in multi-family residential buildings by banning smoking within a 25-foot radius of doors and windows. Smoking was already not allowed in common areas.

In 2012, the Council passed a law that prohibits smoking in new apartments and in all new tenancies.

Last year, Santa Monica joined Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Long Beach in regulating electronic cigarettes – also known as e-cigarettes and vaping machines – within its city limits.