Alameda Gets a 'B' in Annual Tobaco Report

The American Lung Association gave Alameda a "B" in its annual tobacco report on cities and counties released on Wednesday.

The report gave the city an "A" in two key areas — smokefree outdoor air and smokefree housing — but only a "D" for municipal efforts to reduce the sale of tobacco products. The city's overall grade is a combination of its scores in those three areas.

The grades are identical to Alameda's performance in the association's 2013 report.

In November, 2011 Alameda enacted a comprehensive secondhand smoke ordinance that prohibits smoking in places of employment, outdoor public places, and mulit-unit housing.

In Alameda County, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin and Union City all received overall "A" grades this year. Piedmont, which doesn't have any official regulations on tobacco use, was the only city in Alameda County to receive an "F" overall and in all three categories.

The report states the battle to reduce tobacco use in most states, including California, has "all but stalled."

In this year's report, the number of California cities receiving an "A" rose while the number getting an "F" declined.

However, more than 60 percent of California's municipalities still received "F" grades.

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