As some cities in California get tougher on smoking, Central Valley has a hard time keeping up
Last year, the city of Firebaugh became the first in the central San Joaquin Valley to adopt a smoke-free multi-unit housing policy. That same year, Delano city officials banned flavored tobacco products.
Those are considered some of the most progressive actions against smoking in the Valley, and some of the only examples in the area.
As cities across California introduce tougher measures against smoking — the leading cause of preventable deaths in the nation — Central Valley communities are finding it harder to keep up, according to a new study from the American Lung Association.
The association on Wednesday released its Tobacco Control 2020 report highlighting cities and counties that have strengthened policies around tobacco. The association reported many Valley cities fail residents when it comes to developing ways to reduce smoking and access to tobacco products.
According to the report, Fresno earned an “F” along with a majority of Fresno County cities. In Tulare County, every city got an F and all but one city in Kings and Madera counties earned the worst grade. Among those with higher grades are Hanford and Firebaugh with a “C” and “B,” respectively.
The grades are issued based on smoking policies and tobacco retail trends. The association also grades cities on whether they properly define smoking to include electronic cigarettes and other emerging products.
“We don’t have a lot of those in the Central Valley or Fresno for that matter,” said Melanie Ruvalcaba, program manager with the Fresno County Department of Public Health’s office of health policy and wellness.
Ruvalcaba said the health department has been focused on efforts to reduce smoking despite the low number of city policies. Some of those objectives include creating smoke-free behavioral health facilities and multi-unit housing, reducing tobacco retailers near schools and improving definitions of smoking.
The lung association encourages cities to improve on definitions to include new and emerging tobacco products other than cigarettes. Ruvalcaba said that’s an important push, since “people can circumvent the law.”
In the Valley’s rural landscape, getting information to residents is often as hard as convincing officials to change policies, according to Martha Zarate, program coordinator with Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission’s Rural Tobacco Program.
She said the commission often holds informational programs in the evenings for residents who work late or catches residents at community fairs. Recently, Zarate has been working with residents in cities like Mendota and Selma trying to develop awareness around smoking.
Part of the job includes empowering residents to speak to city officials about their issues, she said. But it has also proven to be difficult in getting access to city officials from small communities who work day jobs or housing managers who don’t respond.
“Imagine living in an apartment where your neighbor is smoking every day,” Zarate said.
The work has paid off in some areas, however. Like the housing policy in Firebaugh, Zarate said Selma and Kingsburg have adopted policies for smoke-free public events, and entryways for public and private businesses.
The successes have convinced some of the benefits of having cities adopt permanent smoking measures. Zarate said voluntary policies can’t always work since they could change in a whim.
And there is added expectation things could improve even more in the Valley since state voters approved Proposition 56, the California Healthcare, Research and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act, in 2016. The proposition added a $2 tax on tobacco products and the revenue goes toward research, education and special programs.
Evi Hernandez, senior director of programs for the California Health Collaborative, said the funding helps reach out to at-risk communities like Latinos, Asian and Pacific Islanders and African Americans in the Valley.
In Fresno County, where the smoking rate among adults is 17.5%, African Americans make up the largest smoking group followed by American Indians and Asians.
With heightened awareness, and pressure from the state, some cities have signaled interest in exploring non-smoking policies, according to Hernandez. He said it’s a reversal from previous years when Valley city leaders didn’t seem open to the changes.
The lung association report found there were income and racial diversity among the cities in the state with the best tobacco policies. But the majority of those cities had household incomes above the state’s average.
“I think it’s just going to be a matter of time before we start seeing these policies getting adopted (in the Valley),” Hernandez said.
This article is part of The California Divide, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequity and economic survival in California.
