Problem/Objective: The growing number of volunteer, local, county and statewide secondhand smoke policies is not only increasing but becoming complex in California's 478 cities and 61 local health jurisdictions. The California Clean Air Project-CCAP identified the need to create a centralized searchable database to track and document local and statewide secondhand smoke policies.

Methods: The California Clean Air Project-CCAP identified the need, collected existing ordinances and created the Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Policy Database. This state-of-the-art program was developed to track local, county and statewide laws, ordinances, as well as and voluntary policies that address exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS). Information can be accessed easily by geographic location, topic, keyword search or date of adoption. The database is updated continually with newly adopted ordinances/ voluntary policies and reviewed monthly for quality control. Users may also submit new or existing ordinances to CCAP for inclusion in the database.

Results: This easily-navigable online database is free to the public and provides a brief summary of the code text and Municipal and/or County Code Titles and Section Numbers for each entry, along with the year of adoption. Whenever possible, direct links to city (municipal) and/or county websites are provided taking the user directly to the language of the ordinance or resolution.

Conclusions: Comprehensive policy databases provide tobacco control advocates, decision makers, and the media with the tools necessary educating local government bodies to adopt, implement and strengthen secondhand smoke policies and/or ordinances.