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Smokefree Outdoor Dining in the City of San Diego

Project Updates

We completed data analysis of the flash poll.

  • Of the 1,793 California adults surveyed…
    • Participants ranged from 18 to 79 years old.
    • Participants lived in 47 different counties and 327 different cities.
    • 275 participants lived in San Diego County.

We are working on describing the flash poll results.

We completed a flash poll of 1,793 Californians.

  • We asked about:
    • Their personal experiences and preferences regarding smokefree outdoor dining.
    • Their opinions on a law that would prohibit smoking in outdoor dining in the City of San Diego.
    • Their demographics and smoking and vaping behaviors.

We have started data analysis of the flash poll, and we have begun interviewing restaurant staff.

We identified all of the restaurants in the City of San Diego.

  • We took a random sample of 300 of these restaurants.
  • We called the 300 restaurants to see if they had outdoor dining.
  • We asked the 171 restaurants who had outdoor dining if people can smoke or vape on the patio. 61 of them did.

Everyone deserves to eat out in a clean environment, but currently not all outdoor dining areas in San Diego are smokefree. The Policy Center wants to show policymakers why a citywide smokefree outdoor dining policy can protect restaurant workers and patrons.

We are conducting four Rapid Response Projects to answer these questions:

1. Does the City of San Diego support a smokefree outdoor dining policy?

We are conducting a flash poll of San Diego residents.

2. How do stakeholders feel about a citywide smokefree outdoor dining policy?

We are interviewing restaurant owners and workers, hospitality employees, and City Council members.

3. Are restaurant workers and patrons exposed to second- and thirdhand smoke?

We are collecting surface, air, and hand samples at restaurants in the City of San Diego.

4. Are there other successful smokefree outdoor dining policies in San Diego County?

We are reviewing existing policies in other cities in San Diego County, and we will interview representatives from city governments, the County Board of Supervisors, and selected CTCP-funded programs.

Deliverables:

  1. An infographic of flash poll and interview results
  2. A brief report summarizing the results of environmental sampling
  3. Presentations for community and advocacy organizations seeking a broad public smoking ban in San Diego
  4. A locally-adapted model policy based on Public Health Law Center model language and the survey results