Tobacco Smoke in the Bay Area Bad for Health

Non-smokers get a healthy lungful of tobacco smoke in the Bay Area, one of the parts of the country that fared the worst on an annual report compiled by the American Lung Association. The report grades each city based on whether restrictions on smoking in public outdoor areas are in place, smoking in residential housing is limited, and whether there are restrictions intended to reduce sales of tobacco products, according to the San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco and Oakland both received B grades, despite an aggressive ramp-up of bans on public tobacco use in that city. San Jose received a C -- but most of the rest of the Bay Area received Ds or Fs, like Monterey, Napa, and Solano counties. Two-thirds of all jurisdictionsn in the state received an F grade, the report said. Alameda, for example, earned a B grade, but only after a law that bans nearly all public tobacco use in that city went into effect on Jan. 2. The American Lung Associated graded the entire state of California an "F" for not funding anti-smoking initiatives to its liking. Maybe that grade will go up in June if state voters agree to raise the cigarette tax by $1 per pack.