Operation “Black Lung”

1. Operation “Black Lung” Sonoma County’s efforts to reduce sales of tobacco products and paraphernalia to minors. Penal Code 308 (a) Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

2. Operation “Black Lung” History • Three stings 2 years ago -resulting in 63 visits, 23% sales, 15 citations (results unkown) • Lack of funds was primary reason for not doing more - No specific monies allocated for stings Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

3. Operation “Black Lung” History • Tracking activities was very difficult • Complaints • Visits • Citations and Consequences • Community support was very high Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

4. Operation “Black Lung” Background • County received grant from DHS-TCS for $66,589 to address P.C. 308 (a), and L.C. 6404.5 • Grant runs from October 1, 2001 to June 30, 2004 (first 3 months were for training and set-up – operations started January 1, 2002), and covers only theunincorporated area of the county Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

5. Operation “Black Lung” • Background • An “Enforcement Activities Plan” was developed for each statute • Established “initial” and “follow-up” visit schemes for both - P.C. 308 (a) called for 40-50/10-12 in each 6 month period, and L.C. 6404.5 called for 30-40/7-10 in each 6 month period Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

6. Sonoma County… • Geography • Demographics • Scope of Problem • Response Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

7. Geography… The “other” Wine county is over here (Napa) Pacific Ocean Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

8. Demographics… Area Square Miles Population % of County Incorporated Total 76 285,225 65.27 Unincorporated 1,503 151,800 34.73 County Total 1,579 437,025 Cities Cloverdale Petaluma Sebastopol Cotati Rohnert Park Sonoma Healdsburg Santa Rosa Windsor Age and Ethnicity About 34% are 15 – 19 y.o., (76% white, 17% Hispanic) Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

9. Scope of the Problem… • In 1996 the region* had one of the highest rates of teen smoking (29.1%) in the state. * Marin, Napa, and Sonoma counties • In 1998, 55% of pregnant teens in the Teen Parent Connection program reported that they smoked. • In the 1999/2000 school year, 7% of the 11th graders reported smoking cigarettes on a daily basis. In the same sample, 24% reported smoking cigarettes in the last month. Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

10. Response… • Plan and coordinate retailer visits with Sheriff’s Deputies • Select tobacco retailers to be visited • Recruit, train, and schedule youth decoys • Conduct visits • Summarize results Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

11. Response… Plan and Coordinate Retailer Visits with Sheriff’s Deputies • Orient Deputies on requirements of grant and determine staffing requirements • Organized retailer lists by patrol sectors Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

12. Response… Select Tobacco Retailers to be Visited • Used previous experience of Sheriff’s Deputies and established patrol routines for initial list of about 10 retailers per team • Organized list geographically into visits that would take about 4 hours each to complete Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

13. Response… Recruit, Train, and Schedule Youth Decoys • Recruited 10 boys and girls (15-17 y.o.), who had DMV identification • Oriented and trained them • Role played • Set time/day for visits to retailers Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

14. Response… Conduct Visits • Four teams of one uniformed, and one plain-clothes Deputies, and 2 Youth Decoys deployed to conduct visits • Each team used pre-filled out data input forms for each retailer visit Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

15. Response… Summarize Results • Out of 43 visits, 11 retailers sold to the Youth Decoys (26%) • The 11 who sold will be visited again during the follow-up visits scheduled for May 16 (along with another 40 initial visits) Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

16. Questions? For further information, please contact: Denny Hutton Project Coordinator County of Sonoma, Dept. of Health Services Prevention and Planning Division 3273 Airway Drive, Ste. C Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (707) 565-6616 Dhutton@sonoma-county.org Sponsored by the California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section