REPORT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS, AND MARKETING COMMITTEE
SUBJECT
Title
Report and Direction on Grant from the County of Santa Clara's Healthy Cities Program - Tobacco Free Communities
Report
BACKGROUND
On April 7, 2020, Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute a grant agreement with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (PHD) to explore tobacco prevention policies that have been shown to reduce youth access and exposure to tobacco products. The City executed the grant agreement on July 20, 2020 in the amount of $48,944 for FY 2020/21.
Staff is seeking feedback from the Economic Development, Communications and Marketing Committee on whether or not to proceed with grant implementation and/or forgo the use of grant funds.
Tobacco use remains the number one preventable cause of death and disease in California, causing nearly 40,000 deaths in California every year. In Santa Clara County, one in eight deaths annually is attributed to smoking-related illness or disease, such as cancer, heart disease, and respiratory diseases. More than 1 in 10 youth in the County currently use tobacco products, including electronic smoking devices, and nearly 1 in 3 Santa Clara County teens report that they have used an e-cigarette at least once.
The Santa Clara County's Healthy Cities Program seeks to address these tobacco-related health concerns by promoting policies and practices to provide tobacco-free and smoke-free communities. Currently, the City has adopted 6 out of 12 recommended tobacco prevention strategies in the Healthy Cities Program (Attachment 1). Although the City prohibits smoking in multi-unit residences and many outdoor areas, it does not prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products or require a local tobacco retailer permit (Attachment 2).
The PHD has provided funding to cities to support tobacco prevention strategies known to have the highest impact on reducing tobacco-related disparities and inequities.
DIS...
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