The City of Angels Camp in Calaveras County has consistently earned an “F” grade from the American Lung Association for having no tobacco regulations in place.
Now the city is writing up an ordinance that would ban smoking on city streets, sidewalks, parks, outdoor work areas, and even private property if that second-hand smoke begins annoying neighbors.
Michael Magaña with the Calaveras County Health Services Tobacco Prevention says that a student cleanup last year of city streets "collected 1,774 cigarette butts in just 2 hours.”
Magaña also says that Calaveras County has a higher percentage of smokers than the state average.
“Our adult smoke rate is 18.2 in the county versus 13.8 in California, so there’s this long history, it’s ingrained in our culture,” Magaña says.
Smokers might be able to puff away at tobacco shops, private golf courses, and in their own cars with the windows rolled up.
The city may take action on the ordinance before the end of October.
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