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il <br /> • <br /> November 15, 2021 <br /> The Honorable Vicente Sarmiento, Mayor <br /> Santa Ana City Council <br /> 20 Civic Center Plaza <br /> Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br /> Re: Flavored Tobacco Products <br /> Dear Mayor Sarmiento and Members of the Santa Ana City Council: <br /> The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids &the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund are pleased to submit this <br /> letter in support of your efforts in the City of Santa Ana to reduce tobacco use, particularly among <br /> youth.The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is the nation's largest non-profit, non-governmental <br /> advocacy organization solely devoted to reducing tobacco use and its deadly toll by advocating for <br /> public policies that prevent kids from using tobacco, and help smokers quit. We commend Santa Ana <br /> for being a national leader in its commitment to reducing the death and disease from tobacco use. It <br /> is encouraging to see cities and counties in California continue to take thoughtful, evidenced-based <br /> steps to reduce the number of kids who start using tobacco and help tobacco users quit. <br /> While California has made great strides in reducing tobacco use, tobacco use remains the number one <br /> preventable cause of premature death and disease in Santa Ana and the nation, killing 480,000 <br /> Americans annually. As you discuss policy options,we stand with dozens of other national health <br /> organizations to urge you to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products including candy flavored e- <br /> cigarettes, sweet flavored cigarillos, and menthol cigarettes. <br /> Prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products in all tobacco retailers is a critical step that will <br /> help protect children living in Santa Ana from the unrelenting efforts by the tobacco industry to <br /> hook them to a deadly addiction. Flavored tobacco products are designed to alter the taste and <br /> reduce the harshness of tobacco products so they are more appealing and easy for beginners, who are <br /> almost always kids. These products are pervasive and are marketed and sold in a variety of kid-friendly <br /> flavors. With their colorful packaging and sweet flavors, flavored tobacco products are often hard to <br />