WHAT: Vista City Council will consider an ordinance at the June 28, 2022 council meeting to amend current City Code Chapter 8.12, Smoking in Public Places, to include outdoor restaurants and dining patios. Vista is the only city throughout North County that does not have such an ordinance.
WHEN: Tuesday, June 28, 2022, at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Vista Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista, CA 92084
WHO:
· North Coastal Prevention Coalition Board members
· Student Advocates
· Vista Community Clinic Tobacco Control Program Manager
WHY:
· Vista is the only North County city that has not adopted a smoke-free outdoor dining policy. These policies help protect customers, employees, children and even pets from the risks of secondhand 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.
· Vista is the only city along the 78 corridor that permits retail marijuana shops, making smoking and vaping products more available. After the passage of Measure Z in 2018, Vista now has 11 shops that sell ‘adult use’ and ‘medical’ marijuana.
· Based on an online survey of approximately 200 North County residents conducted by Rancho Buena Vista High School’s Public Policy Club, 85% of respondents have been bothered by smoking or vaping when eating outside and 92% support Vista joining other cities in making outdoor dining smoke free.
· 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. Though most teens report no substance use in the past month, marijuana and vaping rates went up between 2017 and 2019, while alcohol use and cigarette smoking went down.
About the North Coastal Prevention Coalition
The North Coastal Prevention Coalition aims to reduce the harm of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs in the cities of Carlsbad, Oceanside and Vista through community action, education, support and collaboration. Funded in part by the County of San Diego, HHSA, Behavioral Health Services, with a contract to Vista Community Clinic. Visit www.northcoastalpreventioncoalition.org
