Posted on January 13, 2010

Richmond Kudos on Anti-smoking Effort

Richmond, not usually associated with stellar air quality, won praise Tuesday for protecting its residents' lungs by enacting some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the country.

"We have lots of challenges in this city, but we can also be at the forefront of change," said Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. "We managed to pass some groundbreaking legislation and we're very proud of this recognition." [emphasis added]

The American Lung Association lauded Richmond for turning the organization's annual tobacco-control grade from an F to an A in just one year, due largely to a first-in-the-nation law the City Council passed in July that bans smoking in apartment buildings.

The city also barred pharmacies from selling cigarettes and banned smoking in parks and other public spaces.

Only three other cities statewide received A's: Glendale and Calabasas in Los Angeles County and Richmond's neighbor, Albany. Oakland and Berkeley received B's and San Francisco got a C. Just about every other city in the Bay Area received a D or F, largely because they lack smoking bans in outdoor areas and have few restrictions on tobacco sales.

No other city saw a turnaround as dramatic as Richmond's.

"What this says about Richmond and its leadership is extraordinary," said Jane Warner, head of the American Lung Association's California branch. "They took a bold move, expecting to get political backlash, but in reality they didn't. It's phenomenal."

Richmond, home to one of the largest oil refineries in the country and numerous factories, has some of the worst air quality in the region, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Richmond has the region's second-highest rate of sulfur dioxide, which is linked to lung cancer and respiratory problems. Only Crockett has a higher rate.

McLaughlin said the city's authority over industrial emissions is limited, but tobacco legislation is relatively easy to enact. The smoking ban in apartments met almost no opposition. [emphasis added]

The apartment smoking ban goes into effect in July, and will be enforced through the city's building inspection process.

Landlords will be required to post no-smoking signs throughout their buildings, but will not be held liable if a tenant smokes. Fines for people caught smoking will range from $100 to $1,000.

City Councilman Tom Butt called the anti-smoking laws "low-hanging fruit," compared to the city's other problems, such as crime.

"We have an entrenched, decades-old homicide problem that could take decades to cure, but this is something we could do right away and have instant results," he said. "These laws might save more lives than whatever we do with homicides."

Tuesday was a sad day for Richmond's smokers, who now feel even more stigmatized.

"I smoke and I live in an apartment," said Maria Pinto, who works at Stogies Smoke Shop. "It's just getting harder and harder. I think people will follow the rules, though."

Grading the anti-smoking effort

American Lung Association grades the efforts of California's 10 most-populous cities to enact anti-smoking measures.