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-A-- BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA 2 1 rl * ORANGE COUNTY COUNCIL January 28, 2022 The Honorable Vicente Sarmiento, Mayor Santa Ana City Council 20 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Dear Mayor Sarmiento and Members of the Santa Ana City Council: On behalf Orange County Council, Boy Scout of America we are writing to express our strong support of a comprehensive policy to end the sale of menthol and all other flavored tobacco products in Santa Ana, without exemption. Ending the sale of these products will help protect youth and communities of color from these addictive and deadly products. We are in the midst of a youth tobacco-use epidemic, in which tobacco companies are luring kids into a lifetime of nicotine addiction through the sale and targeted marketing of candy- flavored tobacco products. Tobacco companies knowingly hide dangerous and addictive nicotine—a chemical we know harms brain development—behind candy flavors gummy bear, blue raz, fruity pebbles, and minty menthol in order to hook kids on tobacco. These products often mimic popular candies, drinks, or snacks in both packaging and flavor, making them particularly appealing to youth. Today, more than 2 million middle and high school students use 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 minors, 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. 1211 East Dyer Rd Santa Ana, CA 92705 Phone: 714-546-4990 fax: 714-546-0415 www.ocbsa.org Prepared. For Life'