EDUCATE YOURSELF
 


CALIFORNIA TOBACCO LEGISLATION

CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 99 (PROP 99)

Riverside County Tobacco Control Project is funded by California’s Proposition 99. The initiative, which was passed in 1988, increased tax on cigarettes from .10 to .35. Since Prop 99’s passage there has been a drop in the smoking prevalence in Riverside County from 20.1 to 14.3 and in California from 26% to 13% (California Department of Public Health/California Tobacco Control Program, 2009).

​ Along with tobacco prevention education, the Tobacco Control Project also provides staff support and technical assistance to a local Tobacco Control Coalition. The coalition members represent various local communities’ organizations throughout Riverside County. The Coalition has spearheaded numerous public policies and community activities. For more information call (951) 358-4977.


ASSEMBLY BILL 846 (AB 846)


The law, which originated as Assembly Bill 846 (AB 846), amends California Government Code Sections 7596-7598, to prohibit smoking within 20 feet of a main entrance, exit, and operable window of all public buildings (buildings owned and occupied, or leased and occupied by the state, county, or city) as well as buildings on the campuses of the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and California community colleges, effective January 1, 2004. For the law to be effective, a sign must be posted describing the no smoking prohibition.

COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ORDINANCE NO. 866

The purpose of this ordinance is to prohibit the smoking of tobacco on property owned or leased by the County of Riverside, except in designated smoking areas. In order to serve the public health, safety and welfare, this ordinance is intended to protect nonsmokers to the maximum extent possible from the health hazard, annoyance and discomfort of second hand smoke in public places. This ordinance is intended to be supplemental to Government Code section 7597 and Board of Supervisors Policy A-23 which already prohibits smoking in public buildings. Smoking is prohibited on all County Property, whether enclosed or unenclosed, except in a designated smoking area.


PROPOSITION 56


Proposition 56 is a California ballot proposition that passed on the November 8, 2016 ballot. It increased the cigarette tax by $2.00 per pack, effective April 1, 2017, with equivalent increases on other tobacco products and electronic cigarettes containing nicotine.


TOBACCO FACTS


  • 480,000 people die in the United States every year from tobacco related illness
  • 8 out of 10 smokers start smoking by the age of 18
  • Secondhand smoke kills over 41,200 non-smokers every year due to lung cancer and heart disease
  • Tobacco companies spend 9 million dollars every day advertising and promoting a product that, when used as intended, kills
  • The average age of initiation to tobacco products is about 13 years old​
  • Children of smokers have a greater chance of developing certain illnesses such as colds, ear infections bronchitis and pneumonia and asthma
  • Chewing tobacco causes oral diseases including cancer of the head, mouth, neck, and heart disease
  • Cigars can contain up to 70 times as much nicotine as cigarettes
  • Secondhand cigar smoke is more poisonous than the secondhand smoke from cigarettes (emissions form one cigar exceed those from three cigarettes)​


RESOURCES


Smoking Regulations in California

​Federal Regulation of Tobacco

​State by State Tobacco Laws