Home > Accomplishments

Throughout the history of Breathe California of the Bay Area, its work has been groundbreaking, often setting the pace for change throughout the state. The organization takes pride to have helped lead the change against lung disease through the following initiatives:

Lung Disease

  • BCBA developed the original Camp Superstuff curricula for asthmatic children has been used nationwide for many years.
  • The organization has among the longest running patient support groups, equipment provision programs and patient education programs is the nation. 

​School-Site Programming

  • First agency to bring health education curricula into local classrooms (1940s)

Tuberculosis Prevention Partnership 

  • BCBA chairs one of the only three coalitions in the country that utilizes a community-wide model for TB prevention and education 

Clean Air Projects

  • BCBA is instrumental passing groundbreaking policies for local transportation and environmental protections (such as wood burning restrictions) as well as the state’s smog-check laws.

​Smoke-Free Protections

  • Our organization was a supporter to the country’s first local smoke-free ordinance. 
  • BCBA also advocated for ordinances in local workplace/restaurant and bar/ public place long before the passage of any statewide or national law.
  • Our non-profit developed the first secondhand smoke helpline.
  • The state of California currently enjoys the second-lowest smoking rate in the US at 10.1%.

Smoking Prevention

  • Our C.L.A.S.P peer-mentoring tobacco-prevention program was among the first nationally recommended models. 
  • ​BCBA developed the Smokeless Saturday class, an innovative “diversion” program for minors cited for tobacco possession .
  • BCBA offers one of the few programs for high risk teens (Such as homeless or incarcerated youth).

Smoking Cessation

  • BCBA is among the first in the nation to develop Spanish-language, teen and senior cessation programs.
  • Our organization developed the nation’s first to ever bring cessation classes to the workplace. 

​Other Tobacco Issues

  • BCBA led the efforts to pass the landmark tobacco tax, proposition 99, by collecting more signatures than any other local agency in the state. The tax has resulted in a 33% reduction in California smoking rates. 
  • BCBA developed the nation’s first citywide strategic plan for tobacco control.