Network of Care for Environmental Health

Smoking Enforcement

In January 1995, Assembly Bill 13 was added to the Labor Code as Section 6404.5. This law was enacted to "prohibit the smoking of tobacco products in all (100 percent of) enclosed places of employment in this state..." with 14 exemptions. The primary reason for its enactment was to protect people employed in the state of California against secondhand smoke. It has been determined that secondhand smoke is a hazard to our health.

To find Section 6404.5 or AB 13, please click here.

The Merced County Division of Environmental Health was selected to enforce this law in the unincorporated areas of the county and the following cities: Merced, Atwater, Los Banos and Dos Palos. The cities of Livingston and Gustine chose to have their police departments enforce this law.

For more information on secondhand smoke, please contact Sabrina Ratley at sratley@co.merced.ca.us or (209) 381-1085.

Some interesting facts:

Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 substances; 43 of them are known to cause cancer and 401 others are toxic or harmful in other ways.
Secondhand smoke has been scientifically proven to kill nonsmokers.
Secondhand smoke is in the same EPA classification of known cancer-causing materials such as asbestos and benzene.
Each day, 14 Californians die from exposure to secondhand smoke.
Workers exposed to secondhand smoke on the job are 34 percent more likely to get lung cancer.

Other sources of information:

California Smoke-Free Cities
P.O. Box 942732
Mail Station #675
Sacramento, CA 94234-7320
(916) 327-7017

League of California Cities
1400 K St.
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 444-5790

Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights
2530 San Pablo Ave., Suite J
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 841-3032