Correspondence - #30 - Laserfiche WebLink

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e-cigarettes nationally, and 70 percent of youth e-cigarette users say they use them "because they come in flavors I like." Youth are not the only targets of Big Tobacco's deceptive marketing campaigns. For decades, the tobacco industry has targeted the African American community, hooking generations of African Americans on minty menthol cigarettes and profiting off addiction, disease, and death. Today, 85 percent of African Americans who smoke use minty menthols, smoking them at higher rates than other demographics while quitting smoking at lower rates. African Americans die at higher rates than other groups from tobacco -related diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Lung cancer kills more African Americans than any other type of cancer. In Santa Ana, we know that flavors, including menthol, are hooking youth on tobacco. Legislation was recently enacted to prevent online sales to those under 21, but that is just one piece of the puzzle as online sales represent only a fraction of the ways flavored tobacco products reach youth. The vast majority of underage e-cigarette users in California obtain the products from social sources, such as their friends. Ending the sale of these products is the best way to protect youth and people of color from the predatory practices of Big Tobacco. The dangers of smoking are well documented. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In addition, there is growing evidence that vaping can also harm lung health. More than 100 local jurisdictions have taken action to end the sale of flavored tobacco and protect future generations from getting hooked on this dangerous habit. These include the cities of Buena Park, Stanton, Delano, Adelanto and San Francisco as well as Los Angeles County, to name a few. While SB 793 was recently enacted to end the sale of most flavored tobacco products, tobacco companies spent more than $20 million to place the law on hold until the next statewide general election. Santa Ana kids can't wait an entire year to be protected - local action is needed to protect the community right now and address the urgent issue of youth tobacco use. Every day we delay protecting youth and communities of color is a day that Big Tobacco has the opportunity to use fruit and candy -flavored tobacco to addict more life-long customers. A strong Tobacco Retail Licensing (TRL) program will provide enforcement for a flavored tobacco sales restriction policy and is a proven way to prevent and limit youth tobacco use. We recommend the city strengthen the existing TRL program by requiring annual compliance checks on all tobacco retailers and restricting the density of tobacco retail locations. In California, youth and young adults living in places with strong retail licensing policies are less likely to use cigarettes and e-cigarettes than their counterparts who live in places with poor retail licensure policies. For these reasons, we are proud to support a comprehensive policy that ends the sale of all flavored tobacco products without exemption.