[Vista, CA] Youth advocates from Rancho Buena Vista High School’s Policy Club joined the North Coastal Prevention Coalition and Vista Community Clinic in delivering no-smoking or vaping signs to Vista restaurants on Saturday, September 24, 2022.
This is the culmination of a campaign started last year to have the City of Vista join all other north county cities in prohibiting smoking and vaping on outdoor dining patios.
Encinitas and Solana Beach were the first north coastal cities to adopt such an ordinance, and Carlsbad joined them 10 years ago in September 2012.
The Vista City Council unanimously approved the ordinance at their council meeting on June 28 after hearing from public health advocates, youth, and community groups who shared both statistics and public support for such a policy.
The ordinance took effect on July 29, 2022, but the city has allowed a grace period for businesses to fully implement and post required signage. Approximately 100 businesses are impacted by the ordinance.
There was widespread business support, with 24 businesses submitting a letter of support to the City Council, and 64 had previously implemented a voluntary smoke-free policy.
The ordinance has potential to help impact teen vaping rates. 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, vaping is the most common way teens report using tobacco, and the second most common way after smoking they report using marijuana. Though most teens report no substance use in the past month, 28% of 11th graders reported vaping nicotine in their lifetime, and 25% reported vaping marijuana in their lifetime.
Based on research conducted by the Institute for Behavior and Health, youth who report using alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana in the past month are significantly more likely to report use of other substances as well. https://onechoiceprevention.org/
*Video features RBV students Keelan Rosario, Isabella Robinson, Jazmin Hernandez, and Llamilet Honorato
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
