Santa Monica earned an overall “A” score as part of the American Lung Association’s “State of Tobacco Control 2013” report released Tuesday that rates tobacco control policies.
The ALA said Santa Monica advanced in protecting residents from secondhand smoke by passing a comprehensive smoke free housing ordinance in 2012 raised the City’s overall grade to an A.
The national report tracks progress on key tobacco control policies at the federal and state levels, assigning grades based on whether laws are adequately protecting citizens from the enormous toll tobacco use takes on lives and the economy.
Santa Monica joins seven cities in Los Angeles County (Baldwin Park, Calabasas, Compton, Glendale, Huntington Park, Pasadena, and South Pasadena) with an overall A grade.
The two biggest cities in the region, Los Angeles and Long Beach, both received an overall C grade for their tobacco control policies.
To view the complete California report, visit www.lung.org/california.