Californians for Health Equity

More about HPI: healthyplacesindex.org

2/#HPI (developed by Public Health Alliance) measures 20+ social & environmental factors tied to health—from housing & education to clean air & economic opportunity & turns lived experience into data—& data into a roadmap for advancing #HealthEquity. Link to HPI in comments.

1/Op-ed by @MichelleCHC_UCR in @blackvoicenews (link in comments) shows how your ZIP code shapes life expectancy in #Riverside & #SanBernardino. Using the #HealthyPlacesIndex (#HPI), she highlights how pollution, lack of green space & limited healthy food are shortening lives.

@MichelleCHC_UCR @blackvoicenews OpEd: blackvoicenews.com/2026/02/10/zip…

2/#BigSoda is fighting soda taxes in CA for a reason: they work. #Seattle proves that when revenues are reinvested in communities, soda taxes become powerful tools for #prevention, #healthequity, & #racialjustice. Seattle shows the way — CA needs more of this, not less.

1/#Seattle’s #sodatax is a model for prevention policy. Revenue is reinvested in #FreshBucks, helping low-income households buy fruits & vegetables — improving #foodsecurity & #healthequity at the same time. Read the @seattletimes: bit.ly/4bkXrnB #FoodJustice

2/Even after controlling for race, income, region & #MentalHealth, the effect remained. That’s #HealthEquity in action: fund schools→strengthen prevention→reduce #addiction. #TobaccoControl shows what #upstream #PublicHealth can do when we invest in kids, not just treatment.

1/New @UCSanDiego study of 160K CA students finds schools with Tobacco-Use #Prevention Education funding had: 🔻 20% less tobacco use 🔻 23% less vaping This wasn’t just awareness — it was sustained, school-based prevention funded by #Prop56. Read more: bit.ly/4pGhssa

2/All part of a much larger anti-health & anti-science agenda: attacking #vaccines, firing scientists, gutting #NIH/#FDA/#CDC, elevating misinformation, & replacing evidence with ideology. This will cost lives & increase inequities—while deepening disease, distrust, & suffering.

1/From @CivilEats: #Trump & #RFKJr move to dismantle the science-based process behind the U.S. Dietary Guidelines—the backbone of #SchoolMeals, #SNAP, hospitals & #ChronicDisease prevention in nation. This isn’t reform. It’s a #PublicHealth rollback. Read: bit.ly/49eZl6x

2/@PHIdotorg research found SF’s #SodaTax cut sugary drink consumption 34% in 2 years—especially in low-income communities. #Berkeley, #Philly & #Seattle show the same: #SodaTaxes work. CA should lift the ban & let more cities protect health. #HealthEquity #StopBigSoda

1/Big news: #SanJose is considering a #SodaTax to fund parks & improve #PublicHealth. A 2¢/oz tax could raise ~$27M/year while reducing childhood obesity, diabetes & heart disease. #SantaCruz showed CA communities can lead—even when #BigSoda fights back. bit.ly/4b45WDe

1/Must-read @nytopinion by @AcademyHealth’s @aaronecarroll: #Cannabis policy moved faster than the evidence—& today’s commercial market has outpaced our #PublicHealth response. Question isn’t “legalize or not,” but whether we adjust to real harms. Read: bit.ly/3Ya3IdX

Another major victory for #TobaccoPrevention in #MarinCounty. Ross just took a bold stand for #PublicHealth by prohibiting #tobacco retail & acting preventively to protect youth from new addictive products, reduce harm, & send a clear message: community health over #BigTobacco!

2/This isn’t about individual choice—it’s about digital environments designed for #addiction, aggressively exploited by #tobacco companies. Unchecked #SocialMedia marketing amplifies #HealthInequities & threatens 1 of US’s greatest #PublicHealth success stories: #TobaccoControl.

1/New research shows #SocialMedia is emerging as a powerful determinant of health. Even <1 hour/day of its use nearly doubles kids’ odds of smoking & vaping—with risks rising sharply as screen time increases, especially for girls. Read @USRightToKnow: bit.ly/3MEe1o3

2/Report is clear: #upstreamsolutions save lives & money. Shifting to sustainable food + #cleanenergy, ending harmful subsidies, & protecting low-income communities can avoid $ trillions in damage while advancing #healthequity & #racialjustice. Article: bit.ly/4rNqo1e

1/@GuardianUS's @dpcarrington reports that industrial food production + fossil fuels are causing $5B in environmental damage every hour, per the #UN GEO report. Findings show these crises are driving unsafe air/water, #foodinsecurity, & worsening #health + #equity outcomes.

SNAP is a lifeline for workers in low-wage jobs. Meanwhile, CEOs are paid 280x as much as the typical worker. Don’t be angry at workers for using food stamps. Be angry at the corporations paying them so little that they need them.

2/In our support letters, we urged key protections both cities adopted: • Time to assess proliferation • Stronger enforcement + closing unlicensed shops • Addressing illegal #hemp, #flavoredtobacco, nitrous oxide • Planning long-term strategies to reduce retailer density

1/Northern California is stepping up! #Gilroy & #SanJose just passed temporary moratoria on new #tobacco retailers—different approaches, same goal: protect youth, curb illegal sales, & stop smoke-shop proliferation. Smart, local action putting health over profits. #PublicHealth