San Benito County (San Benito County Tobacco Education Program)

San Benito County Public Health Services Tobacco Education Program serves as the

Local Lead Agency (LLA) for tobacco prevention and control efforts countywide. The

major goals of the San Benito County Tobacco Education Program for fiscal year

2017-2021 are:1) at least one jurisdiction in San Benito County (i.e. Hollister) will adopt a

policy to prohibit the sale and distribution of all flavored tobacco products and/or flavored

electronic smoking device (ESD) products; 2) at least one jurisdiction in San Benito

County (i.e. Hollister, San Juan Bautista) will adopt a policy prohibiting smoking at outdoor

dining, and one or more of the following outdoor public places: entryways, recreational

areas, public events, service areas, worksites, and/or sidewalks.; and 3) at least 2 or more

youth coalition members will be recruited annually and maintained by the Local Lead

Agency (LLA) staff and trained annually to participate in at least two tobacco control

activities such as meeting with and educating community leaders, letter writing, data

collection and/or media activities. The population of San Benito County is 57,600 with

85% of that population residing in the city of Hollister, the only incorporated city in the

county. The needs of the rural county population, particularly of Hispanic or Latino, 57.3%

percent for San Benito County as compared to California at 38.2% and those with lower

socio-economic status, are taken into consideration when implementing intervention

activities.