By D’Lainey Nakamoto
I live in Vista and currently attend Rancho Buena Vista (RBV) High School. I am the President of the Public Policy Club on campus, and many of the policies the club focuses on address alcohol, drug and tobacco prevention in our community. Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. If this is preventable, why do we not enact policies that can protect those around us?
Vista is the only North County city that has not adopted a smoke-free outdoor dining policy which help protect customers, employees, children, and even pets from the risks of second-hand tobacco, marijuana, and vaping smoke. Currently, more than 180 cities and counties across California have passed such ordinances, including Carlsbad, Coronado, Chula Vista, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Escondido, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, National City, Oceanside, San Marcos, Solana Beach and the unincorporated areas of San Diego County.
When my mother and I go out to eat, we make sure to steer clear of restaurants that permit smoking outdoors due to her asthma. Sometimes, even the restaurants that have no-smoking sections on patios do not adequately protect her from the smoke. The secondhand smoke triggers my mother’s asthma and she starts to go into an attack. If all outdoor dining patios in the city of Vista became smoke-free, people like my mother wouldn’t have to worry about secondhand tobacco and marijuana smoke while eating out at restaurants.
Businesses and their employees would also benefit from a ban on smoking and vaping at outdoor dining locations. The majority of people are familiar with the harms of secondhand tobacco smoke, and now studies are finding similar risks from secondhand marijuana smoke. In fact, research says it contains many of the same cancer-causing chemicals as secondhand tobacco smoke. Children exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke are more likely to experience ear infections, bronchitis, asthma, and skin conditions.
Allowing smoking at outdoor dining has social effects in addition to the physical drawbacks caused by secondhand smoke. Young kids are impressionable and influenced by what they see adults doing. A previous study in Massachusetts found youth living in towns with strong restaurant smoking bans developed lower rates of smoking than those from towns with weak regulations.
According to Vista’s 2019 Healthy Kids Survey, marijuana and vaping are now the most common substances used by high school juniors. The good news is that most teens report no substance use in the past month, but marijuana and vaping rates went up between 2017 and 2019, while alcohol use and cigarette smoking went down. Data for teens in the juvenile justice system are more troubling – nearly 90% report vaping THC.
Prohibiting smoking and vaping of tobacco and marijuana on Vista dining patios is a small step that can help protect young people from witnessing smoking and vaping, and may help prevent future generations of smokers.
The RBV Public Policy Club and North Coastal Prevention Coalition are actively gathering public input to address this issue. Please take less than two minutes to answer a quick 10-question survey addressing smoke-free outdoor dining policies in Vista to include both tobacco and marijuana.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VistaSFOD
D’Lainey Nakamoto is a student at Rancho Buena Vista High School and president of the RBV Public Policy Club and collaborating with the North Coastal Prevention Coalition
