Two local cities, DRO and P.G., get an A grade for tobacco control.

The personal, public and environmental health downsides of smoking have been well documented for decades. Still, about 40,000 adults die in California from smoking each year, and more than 25 percent of cancer-related deaths in the state are attributed to smoking.

For over 20 years, the American Lung Association has been tracking what government—at various levels, from federal to local—is doing to curb tobacco use and mitigate those numbers. 

That leads to an annual report on tobacco control policies for all 58 counties and 482 cities in California. The 2026 report from the American Lung Association grades jurisdictions based on what cities and counties are doing to reduce the sale of tobacco products, implement smoke-free air policies and restrict flavored tobacco products which, the report notes, are particularly insidious. 

"The tobacco industry continues to find new methods to market and sell its products to a new generation of smokers," according to the report. "For example, the tobacco industry continues to mislead and misinform elected officials and the public that vapes are a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes."

In Monterey County, two cities got A grades this year: Del Rey Oaks and Pacific Grove. 

In a statement, P.G. officials said, "Pacific Grove is proud to be a smoke-free city. Smoking and vaping are prohibited in public places under City ordinance, helping us keep our air clean, our environment healthy, and our community safe."

The city of Marina rated a B. The County of Monterey and cities of Carmel, Gonzales, Monterey, Salinas, Soledad and Seaside earned C grades. King City lagged with a D, while Sand City and Greenfield earned the only failing grades.

(You can read the methodology here, or view the report in its entirely here. Scroll down to view the local jurisdictions' report cards.) 

This year's report highlights that Santa Cruz and Capitola became California's first cities to ban filtered cigarettes. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Tiburon and Ross prohibit the sale of all tobacco products.