THE NCPC IS NEEDED

VERY LITTLE POLICY DATA ON CENTRAL CALIFORNIA ACTUALLY EXISTS

Residents the San Joaquin Valley region are significantly more likely to use tobacco and other drugs, and to experience tobacco-and drug-related illness - yet limited health and health policy data on the region actually exists. This needs to change.

Central California and specifically the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) and mountains have largely been overlooked and underserved

• The SJV contains many ethnically diverse and underserved groups with numerous health problems, including tobacco-related diseases and yet very little data on the region exists.
• Those in the SJV region are significantly more likely to use tobacco and other drugs, and to experience tobacco- and drug-related illness
• Little information on the extent to which SJV residents are aware of, and support, existing tobacco and cannabis control policies, and how various advocacy and governmental groups are engaged in policy formation and enforcement.
• More data on whether people support tobacco and cannabis policies will help better direct when policy formation might be advantageous, where lapses in enforcement occur, and how tobacco control measures might best be communicated to the public.
• The SJV has also been prone to non-regional investigators who have attempted to conduct research in the area, only for those efforts to be short-lived, without long-lasting benefits.

Tobacco Control has historically been difficult in the San Joaquin Valley and mountains

• A severe lack of infrastructure, uneven policy enforcement, and lack of understanding of, or support for, policy among the population has created lapses in tobacco and cannabis control effectiveness.
• SJV localities have not effectively implemented regulations around emerging tobacco control issues, including regulations of nicotine products such as e-cigarettes.
• The American Lung Association consistently grades SJV counties as failing (F) on tobacco control indices. In 2018, every county in the SJV received an F grade, with the exception of a few cities receiving D’s
• Legalization of marijuana also poses a significant policy enforcement problem in the heavily agricultural area, where cannabis is perceived as a potential cash crop.