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ACancerAction <br /> lMetwork- American] Heart TCLC'Th <br /> lbr 1/ I.rnlr,.T cr ob, , <br /> Association.'aw <br /> /�. American AMERICANS FOR o0o P+AD 1,110 <br /> AMERICA Lung Association. SONONSMOKERS'RIGHiS m� • a <br /> ON TRACK California m <br /> Creating Br;gljte Futures C O A L I T I O N <br /> for Comvuur;ries d Yonrl slime l.'l'J p <br /> e.o a qq ryo � 4�-7 FiiSa 56$ <br /> PAVE <br /> �' Partners4WeIIness � L6BTQC(ENTER " <br /> vL � <br /> -- v <br /> r«me.ly NCADD O C SanK Agency•New Name fpanded SewAs ��� " •••••• I'V <br /> ��`eC'a�n6odsan�FctmiL). <br /> November 5, 2021 <br /> The Honorable Vicente Sarmiento, Mayor <br /> Santa Ana City Council <br /> 20 Civic Center Plaza <br /> Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br /> Dear Mayor Sarmiento and Members of the Santa Ana City Council: <br /> On behalf of our organizations, we are writing to express our strong support of a <br /> comprehensive policy to end the sale of menthol and all other flavored tobacco products in <br /> Santa Ana, without exemption. Ending the sale of these products will help protect youth and <br /> communities of color from these addictive and deadly products. <br /> We are in the midst of a youth tobacco-use epidemic, in which tobacco companies are luring <br /> kids into a lifetime of nicotine addiction through the sale and targeted marketing of candy- <br /> flavored tobacco products. Tobacco companies knowingly hide dangerous and addictive <br /> nicotine—a chemical we know harms brain development— behind candy flavors gummy bear, <br /> blue raz, fruity pebbles, and minty menthol in order to hook kids on tobacco. These products <br /> often mimic popular candies, drinks, or snacks in both packaging and flavor, making them <br /> particularly appealing to youth.Today, more than 2 million middle and high school students use <br /> e-cigarettes nationally, and 70 percent of youth e-cigarette users say they use them "because <br /> they come in flavors I like." <br /> Youth are not the only targets of Big Tobacco's deceptive marketing campaigns. For decades, <br /> the tobacco industry has targeted the African American community, hooking generations of <br /> African Americans on minty menthol cigarettes and profiting off addiction, disease, and death. <br /> Today, 85 percent of African Americans who smoke use minty menthols, smoking them at <br /> higher rates than other demographics while quitting smoking at lower rates. African Americans <br />