Public Policy

Community-Based Tobacco Control Activities Since 1990

PVUSD Tobacco Policy
As the result of two years organizing and mobilizing, PVUSD became the first school district in the county to pass a 100% smokefree campus policy. The policy became a county model, and project staff offered technical assistance to other districts throughout the region.

Smoke-free housing
PVPSA advocates for smoke-free housing. At the urging of PVPSA staff, the owners of a 10- unit apartment complex in Watsonville decided to ban smoking in their complex. As a result of this landmark decision, they join a statewide movement to keep secondhand smoke out of places where people live.

Smoke and Mirrors Theater Troupe
This theater troupe brought together a dozen talented and committed high school students to write, rehearse and perform numerous acts, instructional skits that lampooned tobacco industry marketing strategies. The group performed at over 100 classes and community events in the Pajaro Valley, and was invited to perform at the TCS-sponsored Hispanic/Latino Network Conference in 1995.

Award-winning Tobacco Education Materials Development
PVPSA developed and published a series of fotonovelas, "La Vida de Joe Cancer," in local newspapers. The series received the "Crystal Award" from the Youth Media Network in 1996. PVPSA also developed "Tarfree Coupons" which won local recognition for their value in countering tobacco coupon promotions. Over 30,000 of these full-color coupons were distributed to students, redeemable for anti-smoking incentives.

Successful Community Norm Change Interventions

Watsonville High School Policy
The referral process for violating the tobacco policy at Watsonville High School was strengthened in the Fall of 1999 to include the completion of a mandatory eight-session readiness for cessation program if caught smoking on campus. The change occurred through relationship building, teacher and staff training, and a visible staff presence on campus working with students on advocacy activities.

Watsonville Smokefree Workplace Ordinance
Years of education, coalition building and community mobilization paid off in the summer of 1994 when the Watsonville City Council unanimously passed an ordinance eliminating all smoking in workplaces. The ordinance provides more extensive controls than AB13, which was passed in the same year.

Watsonville Cigarette Vending Maching Ban
Watsonville became the first city in the county - and one of only five in the state - to ban all cigarette vending machines in 1991. PVPSA worked with the Watsonville Police Department to draft and recommend the ordinance. TCS grant-funded staff conducted local research, education, and training to build a community coalition for successful passage of the new law.