LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Officials working on the reduction of tobacco use in Lake County say they have had several years of successes in their effort.

Since 2020, the Communities Addressing Nicotine, or CAN, Project has made significant progress in Lake County to educate and inform residents, healthcare agencies, decision makers, community stakeholders, and educational representatives about the dangers of breathing Second-Hand Smoke and toxic aerosol from vaping, according to a report on the program.

This project educates and seeks input from the public about general tobacco regulations and supports and provides technical assistance to other tobacco and health education programs.

The Health and Social Policy Institute, or HASPI, which sponsors the CAN project, has been working in rural California communities for the past 20 years and has sponsored projects in Tehama, Humboldt, Amador and Plumas counties.

During the past five years, CAN has worked to engage the public in Lake County, most recently under the direction of Gina Lyle-Griffin, advocacy consultant and public health educator.

Lyle-Griffin has been with the program since 2022, is a longtime resident, and brings decades of local experience in early childhood education, public health practice and tobacco policy knowledge to this work.

Lake County was selected as one of the CAN project’s focus counties beginning in 2020.

The Health and Social Policy Institute and its CAN project in Lake County is dedicated to promoting public health and clean indoor and outdoor air.

Their goals are accomplished through community activities such as working towards encouraging jurisdictional policies for protecting local families from cancer-causing secondhand and thirdhand smoke and aerosol residue in multi-family housing.

HASPI aims to create positive change and promote awareness of health and social policy issues in our rural California communities.

Smoke-free multi-unit housing, apartments, and condominiums sharing common walls have become one of the centerpieces of the project in Lake County. Secondhand smoke and aerosol poses serious health threats to children, seniors, adults and pets.

For residents of multi-family housing, secondhand smoke, including secondhand tobacco smoke and secondhand vape aerosol can be a major concern. Polluted indoor air can flow from unit to unit and travel through doorways, cracks in walls, electrical lines, and ventilation systems.

This secondhand smoke and vape aerosol can cause or increase cases of asthma in children and COPD in adults.

Everyone deserves healthy indoor air at home that promotes their well-being and that will also make it easier to try to quit tobacco use if they wish.

Over the past five years, Lake County has provided educational programs and forums with opportunities for citizen interaction with policymakers and local public officials regarding tobacco and clean air issues.

Lake County residents needing additional information about the health benefits of smoke and aerosol-free air can contact Lyle-Griffin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or learn more at https://www.undo.org/secondhand-dangers.