Correspondence - #30 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Dear Honorable Mayor and City Council, My name is Atticus O'Daniel and I am the Health Navigator at the LGBTQ Center OC. Tonight I want to share with you some information on how flavored tobacco is harming youth, especially LGBTQ+ youth. According to the Truth Initiative, 19% of U.S. LGB high school students smoke cigarettes, which is nearly double the rate of heterosexual students, while 31 % of transgender youth smoke cigarettes. Additionally, More than twice as many LGB students in grades nine through 12 have smoked a cigarette before the age of 13, compared to their heterosexual peers. LGB students also smoke more frequently. LGBTQ youth are faced with more hardship, adversity, and discrimintation than their heterosexual peers. This stress, and the desire to create community and safety for one another, drive many to start using tobacco products as a way to cope. Flavored tobacco products, especially e-cigarettes and menthol flavored products, are incredibly popular with youth all over the U.S. According to the CDC, 86.4% of U.S. middle and high school students who currently use tobacco have used a flavored product, 86.4% of current e-cigarette users have used a flavored e-cigarette, and 86.6% of current cigar users have used a flavored cigar. According to the Truth Initiative, flavored products are designed to be more appealing to young people, which makes it easier to initiate and sustain tobacco use because it masks the taste of tobacco. The top reasons why young people begin using e-cigarettes are because they're curious, a peer or family member uses one, and the amount and appealing flavors. There are currently over 15,000 flavors for e-cigarettes on the market and 81 % of them are designed to be sweet. According to the CDC, they contain 70 of the same cancerous causing chemicals that are in traditional tobacco smoke, such as formaldehyde and acetone. They also contain ultrafine particles that penetrate deep into the lungs, damaging them in the process. E-cigarettes contain so much nicotine that their toxicity levels are similar to or even higher than that of cyanide. Nicotine on the young brain severely impacts mood, decision making skills, memory, and anxiety. According to the Orange County Health Care Agency, recent data shows that out of the 160 stores in Santa Ana that were surveyed, 53% sell individually wrapped cigarillos & 48% sell vaping products. Additionally, more than 32% of stores have tobacco ads placed at "kid-level"(under three feet) or are placed near kid -friendly items, such as candy or toys. In the city of Santa Ana, there are 32 within 500 feet of a school and there are 93 within 1,000 feet of a school. I want to thank you for everything you have done for your community members so far. We know you value young people's health, wellness, provide opportunities for them to succeed, and so much more. I hope you consider a solution that will protect your young community members from the harms of flavored tobacco products, which will in turn, provide them a significant chance of living happy, healthy lives.