About the Plan
āāThe Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (TEROC) was established by the enabling legislation for Proposition 99 (California Health and Safety Code, Sections 104370) which mandates TEROC to: ā
āāPrepare
āPrepare a comprehensive Master Plan to guide California tobacco control efforts, tobacco use prevention education, and tobacco-related disease research;
āAdvise
Advise the California Department of Public Health, the California Department of Education, and the University of California regarding the administration of Proposition 99 and Proposition 56 funded programs;
Monitor
Monitor the use of Proposition 99 and Proposition 56 tobacco tax revenues for tobacco control programs, prevention education, and tobacco-related research; and
Provide
Provide programmatic and budgetary reports on Proposition 99 and Proposition 56 tobacco control efforts to the California Legislature with recommendations for any necessary policy changes or improvements.
Achieving Health Equity: Toward a Commercial Tobacco-Free California, 2021-2022 Executive Summary
The vision of a commercial tobacco-free California
The tobacco control movement in California has had enormous success in reducing the toll of commercial tobacco use.1 In the 30 years following the passage of Proposition 99, the Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act of 1988, adult smoking prevalence in California fell from 23.7 percent of adults in 1988 to 10.0 percent in 2019.2 Over roughly the same period, lung cancer mortality rates were cut nearly in half.3 The movement is driven by a vision in which there is no commercial tobacco use in California, only sacred use among Tribes with that tradition. It is important to differentiate between traditional tobacco, which is used in sacred ways by American Indians, and commercial tobacco, produced for recreational use by companies and contains chemical additives linked to death and disease. The mission of the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (TEROC) and of the agencies it oversees is to support the right of all Californians to be as healthy as possible, by eliminating tobacco-related disparities and fighting the tobacco industry that exploits communities for profit.
With this strategic plan for 2021-2022, TEROC sets three broad goals: