In 1993, Chapter 8.45 of the Shasta County Code was adopted by the Board to define and prohibit smoking in workplaces and enclosed public places and to prohibit the sale of cigarettes in vending machines to protect county residents from the significant health hazards associated with smoking and second-hand smoke. Smoking is responsible for the premature deaths of four hundred eighty thousand Americans each year from lung and other cancers, heart disease, respiratory illness, and other diseases. Tobacco smoke is also a major contributor to indoor air pollution and responsible for approximately forty thousand deaths among nonsmokers each year from many of the same diseases listed above.
After thorough review of the scientific evidence, the Board approved an amendment to Chapter 8.45 of the Shasta County Code on December 16, 2014 to also protect the residents of, persons employed in, and persons who frequent the county from the harmful effects of electronic smoking devices.
The Shasta County HHSA strives to promote and model good health and protect employees and clients from the harmful effects of second hand smoke and vape. Extending smoking restrictions to include all unenclosed spaces as well as enclosed spaces will protect employees and visitors from second hand smoke, and enhance HHSA’s ability to promote and model good health. As a result, HHSA is requesting the Board consider adding Section 8.45.031 to restrict smoking and the use of electronic smoking devices in unenclosed areas of County owned or leased HHSA facilities. HHSA is also requesting the Board consider amending Section 8.45.080, Posting of Signs, to remove the word “enclosed” from the first sentence. This minor change will extend the existing signage requirements from enclosed areas to include the newly added HHSA facility unenclosed areas as well.
Finally, HHSA is requesting the Board consider amending subsection A of Section 8.45.120, to remove the second sentence to enhance smoking enforcement and more closely align with current state tobacco laws. The state labor code section 6404.5.9(c) was amended in 2016 to clarify that "An employer or owner-operator of an owner-operated business shall not knowingly or intentionally permit, and a person shall not engage in, the smoking of tobacco products at a place of employment or in an enclosed space.” HHSA is tasked with enforcement of violations of Chapter 8.45 and amending this subsection A of Section 8.45.120. will allow for a more even application of the requirements of Chapter 8.45 to owners and patrons within any enclosed area of a public place.
Other local organizations and counties have similar smoke free campus policies including Mercy Medical Center Redding, Shasta Regional Medical Center, Mayers Memorial Hospital, Shasta Community Health Center, Simpson University, and the Health and Human Services Agencies of Nevada, Sutter, Tehama, Yolo and Yuba counties.