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Home My WebLink About[02] Tobacco Issue To the City Counciis a#the St.Joseph Metro Area, Enciosed are copies of a petition signed by people who live in, work in,vacation in, shop in, Visit, or seek medical treatment in our area. A coping is being mailed to the city counciis of St. Cloud,St.Joseph, St. Augusta, Waite Park, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids. Original copies are an file and can be viewed by contacting: Bennie McWilliams Owner of ECig Lounge 69 1Qth Ave S Waite Park, MN 56387 l"hank-you for the opportunity to have our vaices heard! ��'�� U� � 4 2017 CI7°Y�� J��EPF{ � ,�p +5 �Q m � � � ,' �' i" Ges V'v 1 ` �� e . � ) m 3 � O � � N ►� � � N �,, � '1�''�' c,� � � � __.. �. _ ,�._ � ' � � 0 � � � � �� a �J � ° Q � � « � -� � � � Q w � � � �' � � � a � P � 5 �, � � � � t.,� � �_ (v �. �,, m s� O -� � � �� c �� 3 � ..� � � v I� � � � � � � �, � � � � v g �- � � N y � a �' .� N _ � � ��, � �, � � r �' —�- � �3 t° Q .z �° .... � � �� v � •—• � � � �v o � � � c�`� � � '�-� � � �g.� � �� c'�� q m 3 °' � � � � c� .�— � � N .� �- � ; � � �. rn � 1 d � ., � N �, �� a �, o � � .-�. vV � -� � � � � -� C� c� °.� Q � ° � � � � t� � , � , � � � � � N � � t' � � �' �? � � � � @ C� .� ; � , � •`„ � t�'- �,� � .�.� w Q � e t r � � �,�' � �' {J�� C�i -,�. ..,j`) � � � c � �.. 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' ` N � ` G � '� , �.�� v a � � m o � � � _ � � 0 -d � � c '" °. 3 0 � � � � a m o d � � a z . �, � � o � _ � � � m �, � - � � � � , � � � � � � � � .__.� � � ,� �m a, � .... � � � � � p � aa J O �y � p�q° �""i � tND � 4� t° � ..' � � a m o � m � a � °' $ a N a, cp N � � fif � � � � G ! fQ � W �O N � � � an W � � � � t��1 �O p O � � � � � N O � � n ID G N Q Q: i � o � � � � c v� �- � �' o � � � N C • � N 1 n PM� � 0 Q �^` W � ,V To the City Councils of the St. Cloud Metro Area, Enclosed are copies of a petition signed by people who live in, work in, vacation in, shop in, visit, or seek medical treatment in our area. A copy is being mailed to the city councils of St. Cloud, St. Joseph, St. Augusta, Waite Park, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids. Original copies are on file and can be viewed by contacting: Skip Murray 823 Washington St Brainerd, MN 56401 Thank-you for the opportunity to have our voices heard! ��,�1'��' ��C, � 5 1_017 cr�►� ��= �r. �r�s�PH �OR��Id'�Iilf�li�1'l11N l�,#��'0��`�2f, The undersigned hereby express firm oppasitian to aU proposed Tobacco Ordinance changes that conflict with the Age of Majority rule as defined in Minnesota Statute 645.451,or exceed existing Minnesota Statc Law-by which all municipalities are already go�erned, We assert that it is irresponsible to public hea{th,unconstitutionai,and in direct conflict af the Minnesota Age of Majority rule to restrict adults 18+from access ta Tobacco Harm Reduction(THR)products such as vapor techno#ogy and snus.These products havs been proven to be 95%safer than iraditional tobacco products.We also oppose remaving the freedom af chaice to legai adults to access tobacco praduc#s.We believe that ordinances such as Tobacca 21 are averreaching the baundaries that all gavernments should abide by in the United States.it is not the job ofi gavernement to expect adults to be responsible enaugh to make adult choices in life,and then tell them they are not aduit enough ta choose to use vapor or tobacco products,We believe that when municipaiities pass laws such as Tobacco 21, they hurt local business and jobs in their communities,because young adults who choose to use these products will either purchase them os�the black market,ontine,or in a neighboring community.We oppose 7obacco 21 at the city, county,and state level.Removing freedom of choice does not protect children,it simpiy gives them the expectation that vuhen they become an adult,society is not really going ta constder them an aduft.SEudies shaw that 87%-88%of young adutts who smoke wili cantinue to smoke by ignoring the cities intentions and obtaining tobacco products from other sources.When we put them in a position to do that,we are teaching them it's OFC tcs disrespect the law.We respectfuily request that you vote NO on Tobacco 21. I�o Tobacca ��w No Tabacco 21 � No Tobacca�22 � �fo To�racca 21 Phone Number Fu#1 Name Street Address City/State of Residence {aptiona!) � G" .� �.�'''c/ ��-lc��..�f ,.� 2 ��t=`k°� �-c..�`r�L=.-r 7`. ��.:,.r.c� s-�-� �� ;,.. 3 l� �` (h „�CtV7( r . h � n� 4 � 5 `_. ( a • t1.� 6 � "� - „ l L l v �' �„�"��`' � � l.�1 c}�k.-'1= ��` " ` Y.st !J �,4 a �,�� c �/}-`r-, 1�u�a S��,��t�'�/a-�v,t P/t S G.Ld ✓r� h! 3� ts L�� 3 7 s � E"r,��t�"�i Fr'��'�'� a" l`�= C'G � � 10' � � '��" CLL� /!i'� 11 j/�T�/'� � �' ,� r � G, 12 � a. yP,, �s !.' t, ``" L " � � �r ,4 ��y� � ��. � � �,-t� c�� 15 ( r�.. ► !S L{ !� � G ,�l �� -�� C'�t v�.� 16 �C j.�T ic.� /�' r ` '�. ! � � .� P�{�i.. �'r-4f� ,� � u.�,— t h �� i- ,s�'' r��,�'� ��t,ir .ti v'�� Jl�-� r 19 20 At�tlotf l�,�d��e St 1�Mab'�lir�m�e�SE Ta�2L The undersigned hereby express firm opposition to ai!proposed Tobacco Ordinance changes that conflict with the Age of Majority rule as defined in Minnesota Statute&45.d51,or exceed existing Minnesota State Law-by which all municipalities are already governed. We assert that it is irrespansible to pubiic health,uncongtitutional,and in direct conflict af the Minnesota Age of Majority rule to restrict adults 18+from access to Tabacco Harm Reductian(THR)products such as vapor technology and snus.These praducts have been proven to be 95°,6 safer than traditional tobacco products.We aiso oppose removing the freedom of choice to legal adults ta access tabacco products.We beiieve that ordinances such as Tobacco 21 are overreaching the boundaries that all governments should abiAe by in the United States.!t is not the jab of governement to expect adults to be responsible enough to make adult choices in life,and then teH them they are not aduft enaugh to choose to use vapor or tobacco products.We believe that when municipaiities pass laws such as Tobacco 21, they hurt local business and jabs in their communities,because young adults who choose to use these products wi11 either purchase them an the black markef,online,or in a neigfiboring community,We oppose Tobacco 21 at the city cnunty,and state Ieve1.Renrroving freedom of choice does not protecf children,it simply gives them the expectation that when they became an adult,society is not reaily going to consider them an adult,Studies show that 67°l0-88%of young adults wha smoke wili continue to smoke by ignoring the cities intentions and abtaining tobacco products from other saurces.When we put them in a position to da that,we are teaching them it's OK ta disrespect the law.We respectfuUy request that you vote NO on Tobacco 21. �No�'�ba�c��21 � No T'a#aeco 21� No Td�bacc�21 �No 1'abacco�?f Fait Name Street Address Ci /State af Residence Phone Nrrm6er :�,a f� � (aptfonal} 1 , � .-- ,c,,�a';t....- �.,r" .,-,� r. `�.��,..•.R �� {�L. 2 �i,�6.w� L� .11 Ot.t�, Nc.'L �G� i s�c�.�.�.�.�..• r�..�t"' `�. ��• �� , 5 ��! 1��'� (�` ��:.��-� l' '1��:�"� �'�,`�� 6` � � a s io �� 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 " < Attendon Cldes and Counties in tfie St Cloud Me�tro Are�Pleaa�OPPOSE Tobaao 2L The undersigned hereby express firm opposition to all proposed Tobacco Ordinance changes that conflict with the Age of Majority rule as defined in Minnesota Statute 645.451,or exceed existing Minnesota State Law-by which all municipalities are already governed. We assert that it is irresponsible to public health,unconstitutional,and in direct conflict of the Minnesota Age of Majority rule to restrict adults 18+from access to Tobacco Harm Reduction(THR)products such as vapor technology and snus.These products have been proven to be 95% safer than traditional tobacco products.We also oppose removing the freedom of choice to legal adults to access tobacco products.We believe that ordinances such as Tobacco 21 are overreaching the boundaries that all governments shoutd abide by in the United States.It is not the job of governement to expect adults to be responsible enough to make adult choices in life,and then tell them they are not adult enough to choose to use vapor or tobacco products.We believe that when municipalities pass laws such as Tobacco 21, they hurt local business and jobs in their communities,because young adults who choose to use these products will either purchase them on the black market,online,or in a neighboring community.We oppose Tobacco 21 at the city, county,and state tevel.Removing freedom of choice does not protect children,it simply gives them the expectation that when they become an adult,society is not really going to consider them an adult.Studies show that 67%-88%of young adults who smoke will continue to smoke by ignoring the cities intentions and obtaining tobacco products from other sources.When we put them in a position to do that,we are teaching them it's OK to disrespect the law.We respectfully request that you vote NO on Tobacco 21. No Tobacco 21 � Na Tobacco 21 � No Tobacco2l � No Tobacco 21 Phone Number Full Name Street Address City/State of Residence (optional) � � 2 ` 1f+ -Z 2-SSSa 2 � i(�e k i� n �e;��-(�-� / -Z - 3 /� ��'"c ��L�� /tl /-oz�� 4 a- a�-� 5 �. t`l�'�S l I�IC! c.�00 !pS ' — � 6 " 1 , 20'� ��v�, 2 rL lp � h � ' � � '�`' y�1 s cGu�n, a,,�,, �,�'L.< f�3 t� „1a,_ J� �U e� rt��.��-µ 7 L`3�3��--? 9 ` Se�vl. tg' Q �, l�cL1� � � il �C'4'iv � �..t M.[, 11 '�'G.., �"�'N �(1 v �� g� — '�f (J� �� ,2 , _ C , /St� t 5� �� f0 131� � V�Gy�� 1 WJ IM��Wi"F\ I11f� �a �S 5 �1}t�' - � � �� L� �-, Q ctc 15 �� J7�-1 � i �� G� 7� f \ \_ f� 16 ..)� "l... f�`n c � .J:iilYOl� `i' '� 1 1.0,,� C�i �� " �.S SS'� � ,� � 1 ��.- �, Z�� S,��W��"P�.,c� �� :� P�; I� ,8 --�,, 2�� cc �� -��'� �A � � 4 n � 19 ' ��! �tU'•J:,.��^�� 5 J-(/ � 20 � A 3S �t�rns v�- n �� , At�endon Citles and Coundes in tfie St Cloud Metro Ar�:Pieaae OPPOSE Tobacco 2L The undersigned hereby express firm opposition to all proposed Tobacco Ordinance changes that conflict with the Age of Majority rule aa defined in Minnesota Statute 645.451,or exceed existing Minnesota State Law-by which all municipalities are already governed. We assert that it is irresponsible to public health,unconstitutional,and in direct conflict of the Minnesota Age of Majority rule to restrict adults 18+from access to Tobacco Harm Reduction(THR)products such as vapor technology and snus.These products have been proven to be 95%safer than traditional tobacco products.We also oppose removing the freedom of choice to legal adults to access tobacco products.We believe that ordinances such as Tobacco 21 a�e overreaching the boundaries that all governments should abide by in the United States.It is not the job of governement to expect adults to be responsible enough to make adult choices in life,and then tell them they are not adult enough to choose to use vapor or tobacco products.We believe that when municipalities pass laws such as Tobacco 21, they hurt local business and jobs in their communities,because young adults who choose to use these products will � either purchase them on the black market,onli�e,or in a neighboring community.We oppose Tobacco 21 at the city, , county,and state level.Removing freedom of choice does not protect children,it simply gives them the expectation that when they become an adult,society is not really going to consider them an adult.Studies show that 67%-88%of young adults who smoke will continue to smoke by ignoring the cities intentions and obtaining tobacco products from other sources.When we put them in a position to do that,we are teaching them it's OK to disrespect the law.We respectfully request that you vote NO on Tobacco 21. Na Tobacco 21 ~ No Tobacco 21 � No Tobacco2l - No Tobacco 21 Phone Number Full Name Street Address City/State of Residence (optional) , � � , �� C^��Z C�c .-(_ � r��o� C92 �; �,�� 2 � S�1 � y!� R� e ' - � . b1Z� � �� 3 �s f�� - � k t�� (/ /'-�� 4 ��,� f �.� )„�. �Y �- � .�t- w�� ,c �.3 -ad - 3 5 %?c O so Z a �'�q n n a 6 . � a � � �� Ga�� -� r. �o� � ��,��. 5.�f�� Sf �Io:,,� 7t 5-ar�-3��1 $ �, � .�. � , � � �.� G�� `��' �c / - s ��i C� �- {U�� I"'�1�IC �r,vC� � ,o Z •h �' /� �C1" /l�.' � 7�l- 5�-�"3� ,� S -�t'rock �16YY`a'��=Y t�1`b 701-5�7-C�I'7� ,2 ;�� i (C� 1� l r�t.�l � 0 13 bG,G�` �' �t ' � ��'L7�ff16C- S� '"1 i l..�Ln(1 !"'�V ,4 .' u� a�l..'�- v I2� a�.� - .�. td MN �� 3� ��-�tb i s vv; CYi `'� �,�'"�i 16 �� S� � � ,�� '�� d i� 1 �l[ Y t�� n ivt ,e � �� u�E S ; S` � ,s Cl l.�- Jvu1�c'.(�J,�., 3�( I a Sv��rk S<;°�6��'�t S tr� `l� Zo , Ic�62 � �cr-� � �4 � Dear Mayor and City Council Members, I'm writing to you in opposition of any ordinances to change the legal age to use any tobacco products to 21. I oppose this because I believe the newest generation of kids already "get iY', smoking is bad for you. How do we know they "get iY'? Because smoking amongst our youth is at an all time low! They are already proving that they are better at making life choices than the generations before them. When they hit 18, according to MN law, they are an adult and I believe they should be treated as such. I do not believe in treating adults who can vote for the next Mayor of the city or the next President of the United States as incapable of making choices such as if they want to smoke or not. I hope people continue to not take up smoking or continue to quit. I think our state has made amazing progress in the fight against cigarettes. I think our efforts are better served at enforcing our current law of no tobacco products for anyone under 18, maybe even a stricter penalty if caught smoking when under age. I think we need to continue our efforts to educate our young people that cigarettes are bad for them, and I think we need to make sure our youth have plenty of healthy activities to participate in, so they don't have to be bored and hang out in a back alley sneaking cigarettes. I do not think we need more government regulation and stripping adults of the right to make choices for themselves, as I don't think it's the govemment's job to run our lives for us Thank-you for your time, , � `�� ` ,� ,\ , c �� L � �� ) �� Dear City Council, I've been following with great interest the debate over Tobacco 21. I've come to the conclusion I do not support this measure.There isn't enough proof that it will really work, and it really bugs me deep down in my gut for a town to start stripping adults of their rights,their freedom of choice, even if we don't agree with that choice. If the product is legal for some adults, I think it should be legal for all adults.To ban some adults is a form of prohibition, and history has already proven that prohibition doesn't work. Even the people who are anti-tobacco activists can't agree on the issue of age laws! When Ohio was debating whether or not to set a minimum sale age for e-cigarettes, it was fought by some who we would assume would have supported it... Jeff Stephens, director of state policy for the American Cancer Society in Ohio and Shelly Kiser, advocacy director for the American Lung Association in Ohio, say " .._ . . _ - , ., � � ._� , . , � ..�., . . . . . . ,.. ... _ � _. _�. _.w .� Y�.�<.,.,��.. �r.�.r..�;r��.:��. � �;:� � , . , . _ .,.. � � «- �, �,. v� _ .,. �. , x Y „ a � _ _ � �'VVVL'\',�351?i1�C�1 COTII�COY2t�I1t�4tOT1E'S�IOC`d��2(�1`� (� 2 � � '-'C'1 s�il'F��tt�—f7i;�—Cici�PC�—l2'(�)�11-11CiT5E'.,11j11-it I question why we have some in public health saying these laws don't work and others pushing a personal agenda saying this MIGHT help with the problem of tobacco use?As long as we as a nation choose to leave tobacco as a legal adult product, I don't feel that a town should be removing that right. I personally don't like smoking,but it's just not right to take away the freedoms of adults. Just. Not. Right. Please vote no on Tobacco 2i.Thank-you for your time! �� i�.�o �-r-��.��.��_ ��. �- C°-1�,�-�- 6�.�.� � i�.?� l �� Dear City Council and Mayor, I'm writing to you today to ask you to NOT pass a tobacco 21 law. Even those if favor of it openly admit they don't expect most 18-20 year olds to comply with it. That makes it a worthless waste of time!!! This quote from an artiGe on the Huffington Post gives the details of the HUGE numbers expected not to follow this law. ,, � .. . _ . ,,;� . .;: , Ed .;,.. - :: , .:_ ,., _:_ „. .�� t �_�.� s�:. s ��., ��.�t � .r _ , � ; ,; ",. ,.. ,w: ,' <� �� '�;`�� ,'�"��,,� ' � .�� .: r�. `1 � s 3' S:- e�'. F� =yP� u � �.,;:: � .' k �'�`T� � �� * t �.:> �}a5'y ! 3'" . ..,.,�..:Li�,..s__ .. _,..r...�._�rs.w3:n ....�. � _ y , ,�n. � ,_.<.....�,. _..,,.......,.. .r..s,. ,.,._...,s. .� _.: .. .,..�. .,...... .. ..._x..�4.__ .......�.... a�.�_ ... ._.,�a�v� ;" Texas proponents of the Tobacco 21 bill even argued that an estimated compliance rate -� ; of 33 percent with #he new law was too high. In attempting to reduce the fiscal impact, �� ; t,' � proponents openly claimed that only 12 percent of young adult smokers would even � �- ; follow the law. They never stopped to think and no one bothered to ask them wh an �� _:.._ _ Y �.. ,� -.: ._.. � : . , _ , _� : legislature should pass a new law with the expectation that 67-88 percent of those _ �..,�� ,�,�, �, � .._.. . �w. r . � . ._. �_�W��::.:�.._�....:� affected will break it. Passing laws that are routinely ignored encourages disrespect for law. It also puts law ""'�_ enforcement in an unfair position. It doesn't just encourage— it demands selective `i�; enforcement. Before criminalizing yet more personal behavior, perhaps legislators should ��- ^f :�:' � `-: remember Eric Garner, who in 2014 died from a choke hold while in police custody in � '; New York �ity. Gamer's death received significant national attention and ultimately the ��:. :, ;` - city settled with Garner's family. So, what was the crime that resulted in Garner being ",�� Y;� ''�`' confronted by police and ultimately killed? He was alleged to be se{{ing single cigarettes, su� ;�.:� � �,.� , .: � .�.,, --��-.�tr-+"^-r --�^+�^.:�—"�"-�"""'R'^'.�..,>--a �...,,,a.r-y,�,� r a. 4st {rt� t,� e�y1f, ,� a�H: �� Y�. 'k s.�,�"; ;'T'. � .�.f �., �. . ��,.�.u.,.ta... .. �ec+i= slafi�n To Ra'sse Tal�acco (And E-Cigarette�A,qe Is Unnecessary Risk� htt��//tin�uri com/v9d5hqh8 I think iYs time to remember that this is America, Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. I think we need to remember those brave young men and women who are willing to go ofF to war are flghting for the Freedoms of all of us, and not just for some of us. Those of us who are older adults wouldn't want our rights and privileges taken from us,just because somebody else decided we are too old to do something. It should go both ways and those of us who are older, shouldn't be taking away the freedom of choice from younger adults, even if we don't like their choices. I'm not buying this whole "gateway" argument as a reason to take something legal way from some adults in ou�town. If that's the case, we need to ban booze, condoms, prescription medications, glue, items in aerosol cans, and lots of other products that adults use and kids abuse. Otherwise, we are nothing more than a bunch of hypocrites. Sincerely Yours, �,�,�,�-- ��-' .�,f:�j�v`\ �r��r✓v�.��,-' ! �� l��1 c�.� � .�;T C'lc.�� ` To the government officials thinking of passing a tobacco 21 law, The Atlantic in Washington D.C. post an article awhile back about how pointless it is to change the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21 . The article talked about how lawmakers across the country are jumping on the bandwagon to raise the minimum age for smokers, but the odds are that these won't do much to keep kids from lighting up. The underlying reason behind this growing trend is admirable — smoking is bad — but raising the smoking age to 21 would actually make less of an impact than officials think. That' s because smoking rates are already coming down, and smokers start way before age 21 anyway. Reports by the CDC show a steady decline in the numbers of smoking over the last several years, and we are at an all time low. Credit for this drop in numbers can be attributed to many things, such as education, less socially acceptable, higher taxes, bans against smoking at work places, and higher success rates in quitting smoking thanks to more modern means such as e-cigarettes. According to the Surgeon General, 9 out of 10 smokers start smoking before the age of 18, so changing the legal age to 21 really serves no useful purpose, those who are going to smoke will already be smoking. And those who are underage have already figured out how to get smokes illegally. Those numbers, plus the prevalence of college-age drinkers who have no problem getting their hands on alcohol, suggests that those who want to smoke will have no problem getting their hands on tobacco. This age raise would make fake IDs and black market cigarettes even more desirable to our youth. The Atlantic said that the role model for this change (raising smoking age) is Needham, Massachusetts, which raised its smoking age to 21 in 2005 and has seen a large drop in smoking compared to the rest of Massachusetts. Needham' s director of public health told WNYC that teens smoking declined from 13.5 percent in 2006 to 5.5 percent in 2012. The Boston suburb' s success is impressive, but the same health director is willina to emphasize the city's other anti smoking laws aside from �ust the aae raise "I wouldn't say it's aII because of this, " she said However, Needham' s success story hasn't been seen in other age-raising initiatives. Alabama and Alaska raised their minimums, but neither has seen much of a difference in their smoking rates. I'm just not seeing any concrete evidence that changing the age and treating adults of our community iike they aren't actually adults serves any useful PROVEN purpose. I think there are more important things to worry about in not only in our city, but all of Minnesota. Thanks, ) � �� C,��,'�/fN �� 1 kh � �r eQ.� 3�1�- ` , \�3(� `6 5 CO\\�� S�Cf��C� Sp�,\� �c.Q��`% �V\ �, 1 �� Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council, I am writing to you today, because I am against a tobacco 21 ordinance. I don't believe there is enough scientific evidence out there to prove that this law would reduce the number of people who smoke.The proponents of these types of laws like to throw out some numbers to apply their own form of"peer pressure" to local and state governments to convince them that T21 MUST be passed to "save the children". They like to mention how many cities, counties, or states have increased the age. What concerns me, is that they NEVER mention how many haven't. Nor do they present much evidence that the places that have passed these laws have experienced any success in accomplishing the goal of reducing the number of young adults who smoke. People in favor of these laws cite as evidence ONE town, Needham in Massachusetts, had a large drop in the percent of young adult smokers, but they neglect to tell anyone that even the public health official there admitted that there were many other factors that would also contribute to the drop in the numbers of people who smoked. It is skewing the facts to give all the credit for a drop in the number of smokers to tobacco 21, when there were other laws, initiatives, and programs that were also implemented around the same time. 5ome of the states who decided NOT to infringe on the rights of adults and pass a T21 law are Rhode Island, Mississippi, Colorado, Utah, and Maryland. Implementation at the county or municipal level is silly because people will just hop the border to a neighboring community. The fargest advocacy organization in the United States that works to prevent youth smoking is the Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK). Even they can't provide much in the way of PROOF that T21 works. From their website where they discuss Tobacco 21 they say: "Though a higher MLSA (Minimum legal Sale Age)will NOT EtIM/NATE underage tobacco use, it would offer several benefits that COULD help reduce youth tobacco use and increase the L1KfLly00D that youth will grow up to be tobacco-free"... I emphasized the words that make me go "hmmmm", because those words aren't proof,they are a thought, a guess, or a hope. 1 don't believe that is valid grounds for more government regulation and stripping adults of something they can do in the rest of the state. One of the arguments of CTFK and many groups in MN is that changing the age will eliminate high school kids from having friends old enough to buy for them and would get rid of one way minors get tobacco products. That might get rid of a few high school friends who can purchase for them at 18, but it does not etiminate older co-workers,siblings, cousins,friends, neighbors, etc.They are still going to know older people who will buy for them, buy online, or simply go outside of city limits to purchase tobacco products. The percent of people (both young AND old)who smoke in the United States has been on a steady decline for several years and we currently are at record low numbers. The programs and laws that are in place are already WORKING! I see no valid reason to put more government regulation on the citizens where none is needed and isn't proven to work. It is,time to vote no on Tobacco 21 and move onto more pressing issues. � i �� , �� . .!' FY + 1� " ��+ ^' ! / �( .f, �. 1 , t .��'� ��t.� `^ "/� �� i��'� I .�.�'\ �� ' � �'\ ; t( 1,✓ .� � ' � ! � f �f�,;� ,� A t 1 i uis�� 1y ! ` r Lu J� ��[l(/�� t jI (!/y� aJ �}''�j( . ..�t 1�Il��! ��\`'i77. V • � 1 1 To the City Council, I'd like to quote for you part of a piece published in the Lariat, which is a news publication from Saddleback College. This piece was written by Austin Weatherman, a college student. "So 1 can die for my country but I can't take a drag off a cigarette or have a dip? If we take a stroll back in time to the 1920s in the days of Prohibition, we can see what the 18th Amendment did to the usage of alcohol. It did nothing, lf not anything positive, it got tremendously worse. At first, the movement proved to be a success leading to a 30 percent decrease in alcohol consumption, according to i�BsY�� but the success only lasted so long. Criminal activity such as illegal production of alcohol, known as bootlegging, increased tremendously, Famous Chicago gangster AI Capone made $60 million dollars in bootlegging alone. People consumed 60 to 70 percent more of alcohol compared to the pre-prohibition levels of 30 percent rises. Now are 18 year-olds going to start bootlegging cigarettes and causing trouble? The point is this, kids are going to smoke whether you like it or not. Teenage rebellion isn't a new concept. Young kids have always experimented with cigarettes and chewing tobacco, so does raising the legal age to buy the products make a difference?Stopping kids from smoking should start at home, parents being parents and showing their kids the side effects of smoking. Twelve-year-olds whose parents smoked were more than two times as likely to begin smoking cigarettes on a daily basis between the ages of 13 and 21 than were children whose parents didn't use tobacco, based a new study that looked at family influences on smoking habits, according to the University of Washington. It's like tattoos, if your parents have them, you are more than likely to get them. Passing laws to take away privileges of legal adults has no effect on actually combating kids smoking. If lawmakers did want to make a change without pissing off a generation by creating °nanny"laws to restrict them, go after the tobacco companies themselves. Attack the problem at the source: stop the toxic, cancerous chemicals from entering the product Califomia sues over everything,why not#obacco? Defeating big tobacco companies and reduang the amount of tobacco products starts with the parents. If mothers and fathers cannot see that their addiction is promoting their children to start at a younger age, do what federal and state programs already do and use schools to promote anti-tobacco campaigns. Show the kids what happens when you choose incorrectly. Even after grotesque pictures of the effects of smoking and kids still want to participate in smoking, attack the manufactures for putting in toxic chemicals in what was an organic product." I think this young man makes a lot of sense. I don't believe that Tobacco 21 is the right thing to do and I think iYs just an emotional ploy to make everyone feel good and yet offers no real solution to a problem. I am against tobacco 21 laws and I encourage you to vote no on this issue. Thank you!!! ��.��,�,C�� C��'�( cf�/-� ) � ��`�� ►�'l i� � . � 3�3 Dear City Council and Mayor, The Tobacco 21 issue has me torn. I'd love to see smoking come to an end, because we ail know it's not good for us. BUT, it is a legal product and as long as it's a legal product in this country, I find I'm not comfortable with banning some adults from something that's OK for all other adults to buy. I also have a HUGE issue with making a bunch of 18-20 year olds a criminal for something that's not illegal in other parts of the state. Tobacco 2i has 2 options - illegal to sel( OR illegal to sell and possess. Only illegal to sell does eliminate the problem of criminalizing adults in possession of tobacco products who wouldn't be a criminal if they were a couple of years older BUT,to me, if you can't buy it, you can't use it and IF you choose to, you are disrespecting the law, and disrespect for the law leads to breaking more laws. Isn't that part of the problem in society today is a lack of respect for responsibility and obeying the law? Peter Rosenstein wrote an article for the LGBT Newsource - Washington Blade - titled "Holding Youth Responsible For Violating Smoking Laws". Mr. Rosenstein tatked about when Washington DC looked at a tobacco 21 ordinance for that city. He said Council Chair Mendelson "opposed increasing the age to buy tobacco on philosophical grounds." He says "he thinks it makes little sense that older teenagers can vote, fight in wars and even run for office — but not buy a legal product. When do we punish youth for disobeying a law? Is the potential of unfair enforcement a reason to not punish them or do we instead work to ensure fair and equal enforcement of the law?" Mr. Rosenstein then wrote "do we acknowledge Mendelson's opinion youth between the ages of 18 and 21 should be treated as adults? Do we then hold them responsible for their actions? It is clearly a conundrum. As a former teacher and someone who has been involved in our education system, K-12 to university,for many years my belief is the only way to ensure our children become full responsible participants in society is to teach them there are consequences for their actions. Not following the rules and laws laid down for them will have repercussions. Whether it's withholding a toy from a young child who acts up, telting a student no TV until they finish their homework, penalizing them for skipping school, or having penalties for lying and cheating,we need to teach our children their actions have consequences. If the law prohibits their buying tobacco products they should face a penalty if they disobey the law. Our focus should shift to guaranteeing equal enforcement of all laws, not letting young adults off the hook for disobeying a law." 1'm also not sure that Tobacco 21 works, as I have googled the issue and i find lots of anti-tobacco groups saying what they think it will accomplish, but nobody giving any solid statistics that it really works. It sounds more like it's an emotional plea based on a dream to end youth tobacco use. Being as it's already illegal for youth to buy tobacco products, I'm not seeing a good reason to start banning adults from something that's legal for them to do. I'm not seeing a good reason to force my opinion on what's good for people on other adults, and I don't think this issue warrants either passing a law peop(e won't have to obey(meaning it's still legal for them to use these products when they can't buy them) or passing a law that makes criminals out of people who wouldn't be a criminal if they just drove down the road to a different town. I think this is one of those times where our leaders need to opt on the side of not running our lives for us. I don't think Tobacco 21 is the right choice for this community. Sincereiy Yours, '� �'�� '�'-�� (( R,�'�S'� �� /�,� �:�, � �� -- <�.,,=� �� .� ��' To The Mayor and The City Council, I'm against passing an ordinance to change the minimum sale age for tobacco products to 21. My 1 st reason would be because I don't believe in treating some aduits like they are not really adults. I don't think it's right to deny adults because a kid might get thier hands on something. I wish we could convince al! kids to not take risks, but some afways will. They do stupid stuff like drive too fast, text and drive, have sex, drink, do drugs, and smoke. Thank God, the majority of kids don't do these things!!!!! Seems like we always hear about the "bad" kids and we don't focus on the "good kids". It's a shame they have to be "bad" to be noticed! My other reason to be against a tobacco 21 law is that it includes vapor technology. E-cigs helped me quit smoking. The Royal College of Physicians and Public Health England endorse e-cigs as a way to quit smoking and say they are 95% safer than smoking!!! That is a LOT less risk and we already know so many products we use everyday reduce harm to people, like condoms, seat belts, helmets, and safety glasses. I can't stand the thought of those who already smoke being denied access to e-cigs, a life saving technology, for an additional 3 years! In 2014 The American Cancer Society; the American Lung Association; the American Heart Association; the Missouri State Medical Association; the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians; the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians; the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids; and Tobacco Free Missouri all called on Missouri Gov. Nixon to veto Senate Bill 841, which would have set a minimum sale age for e-cigs. While I think ALL tobacco and ALL vapor technology products should ONLY be sold to those 18 and above, it makes you scratch your head why these groups thought it necessary to fight a minimum sale age for e-cigs. t do think we need to support the adult usage of such products and get people to switch away from smoking as soon as possible. As I've watched all the newscasts on the tobacco 21 issue, I've heard no mention of tobacco 21 being a proven method of reducing youth usage. I've heard some projections, but no proof. I do not believe in stripping adults of their rights based on a projection. There are many places that already have tobacco 21. Where's the proof it works? Please follow the lead of Hutchinson, MN and be the 2nd city in MN to say NO to tobacco 21. � � � � 2Z � ��Z'�� C � � '� ��,r� b J� )� �t� C Y�� 0 / � � � C. r � � o � � � � �� - �� Dear City Council, I agree with our Governor, Mark Dayton,who said"I support the goal of reducing smoking by young Minnesotans. However, people who are i8, 19, and 2o years old are legally adults,who should generally be allowed to make the same personal decisions as older adults." How do we send a message to young adults that we expect them to ACT like adults,if we pass laws that send the mixed message on whether or not we believe they are capable of making adult decisions? If there are adults of ANY age supplying adult products of any kind to minors,those adults should be held responsible, not the adults who obey the law. If I beat somebody with a baseball bat, we don't deny adults access to baseball bats. If I drive drunk,we don't deny adults access to cars. If I send a harassing text message to someone,we don't deny adults access to cell phones. Even if I was dumb enough to supply tobacco products to someone underage, I should be punished,the rights of other adults shouldn't be taken away because of something I have done. Kids will be kids, and some of them WII.L do things they aren't supposed to do. We can't make everything a kid might get into illegal for some adults to access. If we did,we wouldn't have the internet, cell phones, alcohol, cars, medications, household things laids sniff to get high, etc. Even though as adults we should all work to keep kids healthy, happy, and safe-there is a limit to how much we can legislate out of the lives of adults, using ldds as an emotional plea to further our personal agendas. It makes it extra onerous when we single out a small population of adults and no longer treat them like adults. Even though I HATE smoking, I can not support a law that bans some adults from being able to access a product that is legal in our state. It smacks of a form of age discrimination to me and sends a message to our young adults that I don't believe in their ability to be law abiding citizens of our community. I hope you'll agree with the Governor and I. Please vote NO on Tobacco 2i. � \ � � + � � L� � .�-�-a � �.d � J � �-� y �--I � �s , � �, J � �I e , 1 � �1 �1 �C � G� ( �f � � P � � 6� � � To the Mayor and City Colmcil, Oregon State Sen. Dennis Linthicum sunlmed up my opposition to any Tobacco 21 laws perfectly in the piece he wrote: "Smoking Age Law Simply More Nanny State" 3itt�:!/�it7�;•tari.com/n;��lest�. I'd like to share a few quotes from the article.... "I think the legislature gave its best shot at offering 18 to 21-year old adults an entirely new freedom — "freedom from responsibility." The claim is that this legislation is needed because these adults aren't capable of making their own choices." "Even in this legislation, the only legislated answer takes place in penalizing businesses. The small business will be forced to wear a ct•o��vn of thorns made up of various fines, penalties, enhanced regulatory efforts and more stringent control over their enterprise for da.ring to fill a market demand foi- tobacco products." " Two questions, 1) Where are the 12-18 year oids currently getting their illicit smokes? 2) How does raising the legal smoking age to 21 change the reality that 12-18 year olds can cun•ently acquire cigarettes while being "underage"? We all know the answer. They wiil simply buy them from their 21 year old contraba.nd dealer rather than their fot-mer 18 year old supplier." "I'in all in favor of drawing a line but the line ought to be a red-line and it ought to meet consistency requirements for soliciting universal acceptance of what adulthood means. The people targeted by this legislation can vote, go to war, bear children, abort children and go throu;h sex-change operations all while under the age of twenty-one. l'm not advocating for any of these things but these highlight the inconsistencies that the legislature has created." "It is hard to imagine how youth wi11 ever mature into responsible adulthood when the legislature is continually stripping them of key facets of their autonomy. After all, wheil does an adult exercise good judgment? Does it really happen the day following their 21 st birthday?" I feel these are a11 valid points and I hope you will take them under consideration as you t ink about taking away the rights of adults to purchase a legal product. Thanks! 5��. ��..� � � '� �� -� (�' �-�o �� d�5 �r �-� � � W��-� �'��, �N 5��8� Dear City Councii, As you consider raising the age to purchase tobacco products to 21, I'd like to ask you some questions.... 1) If an 18 year old will purchase for a 17 year old, what's to stop a 21 year old from purchasing for a 17 year old? 2) Do our local police have nothing more important to do than ticket 18-20 year olds for making an adult choice?Wouldn't the time of law enforcement be better served arresting drunk drivers, stopping domestic assault, fighting the war on drugs, and catching thieves? 3) If people obey the law starting at the age of 21, why is binge drinking by underage college students such a crisis in this country? SOMEBODY is buying alcohol for them, I'm guessing somebody of legal age. Why would that be any different for smoking? 4) Did you know that most people who will give in to risk taking behaviors START smoking BEFORE they are 18? If they are going to make those types of bad choices, what does changing the age to 21 do to help the problem? 5) Why is an 18 year old adult enough to make a decision to join the military, knowing they could end up disabled or DEAD by doing so, and not old enough to make the choice of whether or not they want to smoke? 6) Why is an 18 year old adult enough to decide on medical treatments, procedures, and surgeries for themselves, but not adult enough for other choices? 7} Why should adults who abide by the law and don't buy for minors now have their right taken away to partake in legal adult activities? What reward is that for being a good citizen?Why are we not catching and punishing those who buy for minors or the minors who make the choice to break the law? 8) If smoking by minors is such a HUGE deal, why when they get caught is it only a petty misdemeanor (which isn't even considered a crime?) Why not punish those who break the law with stiffer penalties? Maybe those kids should be charged with a misdemeanor, have to pay a fine, and do community service. That community service should be helping people with cancer or other ailments from smoking, so those kids can witness for themselves what the bad choice to smoke leads to. 9) Why are we not catching and punishing those who buy for minors or the minors who make the choice to break the law? Yes, I am anti-smoking BUT, I believe that there is too much government interference in our lives. A person is either an adult or they are not. There is no in between. I believe that this community, and our who�e country for that matter, has more pressing issues than taking away the rights of adults. Sincerely, �i�i�--� � c� � uc�r�-� �� -3�rrc,q-}'y.� �m.e.mc�r'�� U_ '.� �fi� C(� �d �l +v 5��- i To the City Council and the Mayor, I'm concemed about limiting the right of a retail establishment from selling a product that competing retailers can sell in neighboring towns. I think this will hurt small businesses and could cost some people their jobs due to lost revenues. It could also cost an employee their job if the get fired for making the mistake of not carding the right customers. It is much easier to make the judgment call that somebody is under 18 because many have more childish facial features/ body build than people getting close to 21, who could have an older looking face, a more mature body, and maybe even their children with thern. There is something in the USA called the Synar Amendment. For states to get funding for some tobacco control programs and compliance check expenses, they must demonstrate they have at least an 80% pass rate in the tobacco compliance checks. After New York City changed their minimum sale age from 18 to 21, a study was conducted to see if it affected the percent of businesses that passed a compliance check. The study found that the rate of passing dropped to 62%. ThaYs an increase of failures in NYC, more businesses getting fined, more cashiers getting fined, more young adults being criminalized and the potential loss of funds to that community for tobacco control programs and help paying for compliance check expenses from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Is this really something our community wants to risk when young adults can just drive to another town to buy these products and buy other things while they are out of town? I don't think so, and I hope you will not try to change our tobacco ordinances and raise the age to sell tobacco products to 21. 1 think we have bigger fish to fry in this town! V�� o�_c_�_.eE.;�� i ig �Qk� � ..�..�� tae. C��s, rn� s�� , Dear Mayor and City Council Members, I am against changing the age for use of vapor products to age 21. (Tobacco 21). I wish that e-cigarettes were not classified with combustible tobacco products. Smoking cigarettes kills people. Using vapor technology helps people like me quit smoking and helps save lives. I feel this is too important to make people wait until a later age to help them quit smoking. The World Health Organization estimates that 1 Billion people will die in the next century from smoking! I believe it is our responsibility to keep this life saving technology available to help smokers quit. The Royal College of Physicians say that vaping is 95% SAFER than smoking. If only we could reduce all the risks in our lives by 95%!!!! Please vote no on this issue if you choose to include vapor technology with smoking. Thank-you! ..- � � \ �*n �l� ` �� ` u � " " � ,\ . l`�ry� \� �-�� ;, J� � � �� , �� , �� 1 Dear City Councii, Why waste the time and energy on passing a Tobacco 21 ordinance, when 18-20 year olds can just go outside city limits to purchase whatever they want? LeYs do things to help the economy of this community, not hurt it by denying adults the right to purchase a product that is legal for them everywhere except inside the city limits. Let's not send our adults a mixed message about their ability to be an adult. If you do this, where does it end? Where is that magic line we must NOT CR�SS, the line where government takes too much control of our lives? Do we start banning some people from eating McDonald's because some people don't eat healthy? Do we start banning energy drinks from adults because a kid had too much caffeine and died? Should we take cars away from anyone under 30 because some young adults drive recklessly and cause fatal accidents? There's a huge push in Minnesota for more bicycle trails for a healthy family activity, and yet, people on bikes get hit by cars and get hurt or killed. Instead of bike trails, should we be banning bikes? Yours Truly, � ;�'o`��/ ��,�V-�a �c;��l i a��d 1�t u �o�Y c� �� J S�`C-�G U�C� 'M�1 rn, 1�?,0� To The Mayor& Council, Who completes compliance checks to make sure that businesses aren't selling tobacco products to minors? Who pays for those checks? How often are those compliance checks completed and what is the pass/fail rate for businesses in our community? Tobacco 21 laws make it sound like you are blaming local businesses for consumers breaking the law. Why punish the people who provide jobs in our community by taking away business from them and sending it to another town? If those expenses are paid by the state of Minnesota, Minnesota law is anyone 18 or older can buy tobacco, so if you pass this ordinance, who will be responsible for checking to see if businesses sell to 18 - 20 year olds and who will pay for that?Seems very confusing to me to have a local law be different to state law. If you raise the age to purchase to 21, will you also raise the age to sell? Or are you going to send a very confusing message that iYs OK to be an employee SELLING at 18, but not OK to SELL to someone thaYs 18? If you are not old enough to DECIDE for yourself at 18 to smoke or not, how are you old enough and responsible enough to obey the law and not sell to those under 21? We have all kinds of problems in our city. We have underage drinking, we have adults driving drunk, we have a drug problem, we have people abusing kids, we have people stealing, we have all kinds of people who break the law. Are more laws fixing any of these problems? Maybe we need to go back to TEACHING people to have morals and values and to be good and do the right thing. If you want to get rid of every problem there is in our town, the only solution is to make it illegal to live here, then all our problems will be solved. Oh wait, that only works if people would OBEY that law and move away. It is time for our government to STOP trying to make all our decisions for us. It is time to draw the line and PREVENT any further activity that turns us into another nanny community. Just something to think about. Thank you for your time. Respectively, �� . v��ws Y 7 - ,, , ;�, '.�_ � � ��z �s� ��- �/, S� ��'�S �� To the Mayor and City Councii, There isn't a good reason to change our claim to fame to be the next town in MN to pass a tobacco 21 law. I think we should be like Hutchinson and decide NOT to go forward with a tobacco 21 law. 1Nhat happens when things become inaccessible or too expensive for people? If they really want something, they find a way to get it. Our young adults are very internet savvy. If you pass a law taking away one of their adult privileges, they will just go on the internet or drive to the next town to get whatever they want. You then force people into making the choice to become common criminals if they choose to buy black market products locally. Black Market cigarettes are available from loca! street corners to websites. When people buy black market smokes, they are stilt endangering their health AND they are cheating MN out of lots of dollars of tobacco tax revenue. The Star Tribune had an article in Feb. 2015 called "Minnesota Says Cigarette Smuggling is a Growing Problem" written by Ricardo Lopez. He wrote "cigarette smuggling has become a growing business in the state. State Patrol officers are also seizing a growing number of untaxed tobacco products as smugglers get caught hauling the goods across state lines, revenue officials said. 'This is now obviously a more organized, or a more robust presence of smuggling," Revenue Commissioner Cynthia Bauerly said". "Officials estimate smuggling will cost the state $2.6 million in lost tax revenue over the next two years" Cigarette smuggling has soared since 2013, propelling the state to fifth highest for the crime according to a report by the Tax Foundation and Mackinac Center for Public Policy. The peer-reviewed study compares the number of smokers in a state to legal sales of cigarettes, often revealing much lower sales than would be expected for the state's smoking population. The ±op five states with the highest inbound smuggling rates include New York (55 percent}, Arizona (50 percent), New Mexico (46 percent), Washington (45 percent) and Minnesota (36 percent). Forcing adults into a position of doing their business in another town or purchasing what they want via smuggled / illegal means is no way to treat the citizens of our wonderful city. Please vote "NO" on any Tobacco 21 ordinances. Thank-you, �'�—�� .;e,-�-�`�;J--�--, �, _ ��` ��'� 5�.,1�n��.'' � � � �-r ;�,� i /'��f�1 /�(37`� , (,��/�t �� Denr Mayor&City Council, v �G I'm sure by now you've heard plenty of � ��eSs ar9uments agninst a tobacco 211aw.People will be �� E � concerned about taking away freedoms from some Tobacco adults and not treating them equal to other ndults. They will be concerned you can go to war,but not �� vape,smoke,or chew.Others will be worried about the effect on smnll businesses and locnl jobs when .c business is sent to other towns.As people drive to � ��^�� e� FUTURE °�er locations for the banned products,they will J ' h¢althi�r co • • also be buying gns,milk,snacks,etc.I agree with these nrguments! g C��4�.� Et�Y�R�k�N�Et�T My BIGGEST concern about tobacco 211aws is that the�include vapor products(e-cigs).These products are helping adults all over the world quit smoking.Over 1/z of all kids who experiment with smoking come from the homes of smokers.They steal cigarettes from their families and imitate the behavior of their smoking family members.As we reduce the number of adult smokers,we reduce the number of kids who take up smoking.Vaping has been proven to be 9596 safer thun smoking.There is no danger from 2nd hand vapor.Vaping is more successful to help people quit smoking than the most common methods prescribed by doctors! If we bnn vaping to the age of 21,we are sentencing people who already smoke to 3 additionnl years of smoking.Why?Because it is easier to get your hands on cigarettes vin the black market and other illegal means than it is to get your hands on vnpor products.Mnny young adults alrendy have children,so we are also sentencing young kids to 3 additional years of very harmful second hand smoke.Why would any government body pass such a sentence on their citizens?Why would we make an excuse we're doing this for kids,when nctually,more kids will continue to be harmed? Meanwhile,cigarette butts littering our communities is disgusting.They are everywhere! They are very harmful to our environrnent.As we push people to continue to smoke by making it even more appealing as a"forbidden fruit",we continue to have people stufFed outside,grnbbing a quick smoke,and then throwing their butts all over the place.Vaping does not have such a litter problem,so the more people we encourage to quit smoking or switch to vnping,the more we are doing for our environment. Prohibition does not work,it has never worked.Look at alcohol and drugs and you will see we can not legislate some problems away.We must continue to educate and encourage people so they will wANT to muke healthier choices.Then we will succeed.This means we must leave healthier choices nvailable to our citizens.That is exnctly what vaping is,a healthier choice.Most people begin smoking before they are 18.Changing the age to 21 won't fix that.Please don't ban vaping until age Z1 and deny our young adults with little kids a heulthier choice.Keep vaping accessible to our ndults so they have the option AS AN ADULT to make a healthier choice.Keep the"FI�EE"in Freedom! I'm�ounting on all of you to do the right thing,avoid government over-reach,don't harm local businesses,and leave adult choices nvailnble to atlults.Vote NO on Tobacco 21. �� - c�,s � , , .-� �' �� lL` �;'��.�'-l„' �- �v 5�C� �l�cJ S�.S � �.<< � ( Dear Mayor and City Councii, I've been researching the issue of whether or not the Tobacco 21 movement is a good idea and if it really works. What I have found disturbing in my research is while we struggle with the issue of should someone who is legally an adult be denied access to products that are legal for them to purchase in other parts of our state vs. lowering the numbers of young people who smoke is the LACK of facts. I'm finding too many "hopeful" words, but not enough evidence. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, maybe, might, possible, etc., are not good enough reasons to me to change the law. Even the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, MN (who are HUGE supporters of anti-tobacco and anti-ecigarette laws) use a whole slew of words to influence policy without the facts to back them up. They support Tobacco 21 and here is what they claim to be benefits of such a policy. {I added my own emphasis). "Raising the Minimum Legal Sales Age (MLSA) would likelv lower overall tobacco use rates by reducing and delaying the onset of tobacco use: Increasing the MLSA for tobacco and related products could promote tobacco control efforts by helping to reduce the number of young people who start using tobacco, as well as by delaying the potential onset of tobacco use by many youth and young adults." Before I would be willing to take away the rights of a voting, country serving adult, I'd need something more concrete than LIKELY and COULD. LIKELY & COULD lower use ASSUMES that people who are 21 won't purchase for people who are under 21 and people who are under 21 won't take up smoking because it's illegal for them to do so (and if that was true, we wouldn't be having this discussion). Problem is statistics show that most people take up smoking before they are 18, and most of them start by stealing cigarettes from their families. I think we need to encourage more adults to quit smoking. While researching that, I found huge numbers of adults are finally succeeding at quitting by trying vaping. Looks like consumers finally found what really works to help them quit. As less adults smoke, more and more children will grow up without smoking being a "normal" thing to do. Less children will have a parent to steal cigarettes from, and the numbers of smokers will continue to drop. I have come to the decision that I OPPOSE our city passing a Tobacco 21 ordinance. I encourage you to do the same. Thank-you, �,��. .��,-�-1n,u_s °�� . �— �'`�� l ��-i� S'�_�:,�.-1-('l S��v�<< Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council, If you passes a Tobacco 21 ordinance, what happens to tourists that come to our community who are 18 to 20 years old and smoke? If they are standing somewhere smoking or vaping and doing what is legal for them to do in the rest of the state, do they get a ticket for breaking a local law they will know nothing about?And if they do know about this, it seems to me it just encourages people to go anywhere but our town. Such an ordinance that affects our town just doesn't make any sense to me! Thank you, 3 �.� S 5�� .. �--.�- s f- _ �_. . ,..__ �� o � �� 1� �� Dear Ciry Council, Why waste the time and energy on passing a Tobacco 21 ordinance, when 18-20 year olds can just go outside city limits to purchase whatever they want? LeYs do things to help the economy of this community, not hurt it by denying adults the right to purchase a product that is legal for them everywhere except inside the city limits. Let's not send our adults a mixed message about their ability to be an aduit. If you do this, where does it end? Where is that magic line we must NOT CROSS, the line where govemment takes too much control of our lives? Do we start banning some people from eating McDonald's because some people don't eat healthy? Do we start banning energy drinks from adults because a kid had too much caffeine and died? Should we take cars away from anyone under 30 because some young adults drive recklessly and cause fatal accidents? There's a huge push in Minnesota for more bicycle trails for a healthy family activity, and yet, people on bikes get hit by cars and get hurt or killed. tnstead of bike trails, should we be banning bikes? Yours Tnaly, , � ��z�� Rt e_n � o� ^�{ �f,��f�� c� ` � , � ��;I`�� I�c�� ,�,i�j� �6 3��`� r �Q� �_��te� ��( ��" � � Dear City Council, As you consider raising the age to purchase tobacco praducts to 21, I'd like to ask you some questions.... 1) If an 18 year old will purchase for a 17 year old, what's to stop a 21 year old from purchasing for a 17 year old? 2) Do our local police have nothing more important to do than ticket 18-20 year olds for making an adult choice?Wouldn't the time of law enforcement be better served arresting drunk drivers, stopping domestic assault, fighting the war on drugs, and catching thieves? 3) If people obey the law starting at the age of 21, why is binge drinking by underage college students such a crisis in this country? SOMEBODY is buying alcohol for them, I'm guessing somebody of legal age. Why would that be any different for smoking? 4) Did you know that most people who will give in to risk taking behaviors START smoking BEFORE they are 18? If they are going to make those types of bad choices, what does changing the age to 21 do to help the problem? 5) Why is an 18 year old adult enough to make a decision to join the military, knowing they could end up disabled or DEAD by doing so, and not old enough to make the choice of whether or not they want to smoke? 6) Why is an 18 year old adult enough to decide on medical treatments, procedures, and surgeries for themselves, but not adult enough for other choices? 7) Why should adults who abide by the law and don't buy for minors now have their right taken away to partake in legal adult activities? What reward is that for being a good citizen?Why are we not catching and punishing those who buy for minors or the minors who make the choice to break the law? 8) If smoking by minors is such a HUGE deal, why when they get caught is it only a petty misdemeanor (which isn't even considered a crime?) Why not punish those who break the law with stiffer penalties? Maybe those kids should be charged with a misdemeanor, have to pay a fine, and do community service. That community service should be helping peopie with cancer or other ailments from smoking, so those kids can witness for themselves what the bad choice to smoke leads to. 9) Why are we not catching and punishing those who buy for minors or the minors who make the choice to break the law? Yes, i am anti-smoking BUT, f betieve that there is too much govemment interterence in our lives. A person is either an adult or they are not. There is no in between. I believe that this community, and our whole country for that matter, has more pressing issues than taking away the rights of adults. Sincerely, ��✓� �`"�-'��'f'_ ��.�7'1� ! G—Zc7 L---� Sc:�i�,�" ,�y� ��''�--�✓1 �'/ ` -��` 2�� 1 lA �'�'� G 1 c�.:�, 1�I 1J� �3d-t -"� �� `�;�►'.�r�� v S � �--_ To the City Council, I'm w�ting to you in opposition of any ordinances to change the legal age to use any tobacco products to 21. I oppose this because 1 believe the newest generation of kids already "get it", smoking is bad for you. How do we know they"get it"? Because smoking amongst our youth is at an all time low!They are already proving that they are better at making life choices than the generations before them. When ihey hit 18, according to MN law, they are an adult and I believe they should be treated as such. I do not believe in treating adults who can vote for the next Mayor of the city or the next President of the United States as incapable of making choices such as if they want to smoke or not. I hope people continue to not take up smoking or continue to quit. I think our state has made amazing progress in the fight against cigarettes. I think our efforts are better served at enforcing our current law of no tobacco products for anyone under 18, maybe even a stricter penalty if caught smoking when under age. I think we need to continue our efforts to educate our young people that cigarettes are bad for them, and I think we need to make sure our youth have plenty of healthy activities to participate in, so they don't have to be bored and hang out in a back alley sneaking cigarettes. 1 do not think we need more govemment regulation and stripping adults of the right to make choices for themselves, as I don't think iYs the government's job to run our lives for us Thank-you for your time, _ /� � , � ��.� / � �l�G /� , /� ?, ��.�,—�_ � :v 2��"�' Ca ��.� z .3 ,�,� �� 3�� ,� � i Dear City Council, Mayor, and Local Citizens, Does Tobacco 21 work when it's only in one city? That was a question explored in 2015 by the Columbia Daily Tribune in Columbia, MO � year after that city passed a tobacco zl ordinance. The Tribune conducted an informal poll of 47 habitual smokers aged i� to 20. Most of those smokers still obtained tobacco in at least one of three ways: purchasing from a clerk who did not properly check identification, obtaining tobacco outside city limits or asking an older individual to purchase the tobacco — an act that is not illegal for those aged 18 to 2v under the city ordinance. "Forty-two respondents said they had asked an older friend to purchase tobacco for them since the ordinance passed._lyearlv�1 of the r�esnond�ts —4S of the 47— safd thevhad nurr_has�tobacco o�tside�hp citir" � 3o years ago, most young people didn't know many outside of family who were more than a year or 2 older than them. Times have changed. Most teens have cars, work at places with people of alI ages, participate in social circles outside of school because of all the people they get to know online via social media, and most young people are very tech savy and know how to buy ANYTHING they want online. Yes, you can even buy smokes, booze, and drugs online. I believe that this survey demonstrates how little impact a Tobacco 21 ordinance will have on deterring young people from smoking. I think our efforts are better served to continue to educate young people. Smoking rates by youth are at an all time low, we are winning the battle and I think we should continue with what is working and not waste the city's time Qn an ordinance that won't hold much weight with young adults who CHOOSE to smoke. Thanks � � / '�� . �� <l /I�1C lr(/' �l �l A V✓�/ v ...� i�.'� �� .� , , ' (�---� � �� ' � C �, `. �' c�o� , ' �, � � i � �� `�� 1 �� - c�L �,�� _ � �� - �� Dear Mayor and City Council Members, I am against changing the age for use of vapor products to age 21. (Tobacco 21). f wish that e-cigarettes were not classified with combustible tobacco products. Smoking cigarettes kills people. Using vapor technology helps people like me quit smoking and helps save lives. I feel this is too important to make people wait until a later age to help them quit smoking. The World Health Organization estimates that 1 Billion people will die in the next century from smoking! I believe it is our responsibility to keep this life saving technology available to help smokers quit. The Royal College of Physicians say that vaping is 95% SAFER than smoking. If only we could reduce all the risks in our lives by 95%!!!! Please vote no on this issue if you choose to inctude vapor technology with smoking. Thank-you! � d'� t� l 7Cj� o/th �c%IcJ� ��-, ;�C�r r�1 � C�! ��"l,� � `��r -\��d � To the City Council and Mayor„ I oppose the initiative to change the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21. I don't believe in taking away choices from adults. I do not believe that enough 18 - 20 year olds in our city use tobacco products to make it worth having us be different than the rest of the state. The American Journal of Public Health - "Retail Impact of Tobacco Sales to Age 21"estimated only a 2% decrease of annual tobacco sales due to Tobacco 21. 2%to me is not worth the extra compliance checks and efforts of law enforcement to enforce this, when 18 - 20 year olds can just go down the road to the ne�rt town to make these purchases. Meanwhile,those 2% will also be buying what ever else they needed from the gas station while they are out of town for smokes. Things like gas, oil, snacks, newspapers, etc.That is going to add up to a lot of lost saIes for our local businesses. I also do not�betieve you pccnish a certain age group ofadults, by taking away their freedom of choice because some adults break a law. In that case we should ban all alcohol, cars, medications,guns, gambling, etc., from all adults, due to bad choices and illegal activities by both adults and youth. Sincerely, , ; , ��,��.. ��, �` � , \ � � , �� . v �i��`�s �� ,"�( ��.-� '' � % � � � ' � Dear Mayor and City Council, If the age to purchase tobacco products is raised to 21, will the age to SELL those products also be changed?Are we going to trust peopie who can't legaily use a product with the responsibility of selling it? If the age to USE and SELL is changed, what happens to businesses that rely on a workforce of younger employees? Some of those jobs are too low paying for adults to have or don't have enough hours for adults and make it so they can't support themselves and their families. If it is illegal to sell to anyone under 21, then it SHOULD also be illegal for those under 21 to use these products. Do we really want to give a criminal record to someone who is doing something that is legal in fhe rest of the state? Do we want people failing background checks for college scholarships or jobs because of a Tobacco 21 law? Thank you, .� �;�,,� , ,_,..' ,� .� � ` ��t-�vcT`�'�:•�.�' � �"',..�'.- ,, ��--_ � �✓� ,��%t7 j i4�i�°�if�/� ��i� ��', ��-�-� Dear City Council Members, I'd like to share with you some comments by Lindsay Stroud who is the Government Relations Coordinator for The Heartland Institute. In an article written by Ms. Stroud she says: "Health policy advocates argue an increase in age is necessary to protect the health of our youth, but does this type of policy actually help the general welfare of the population? The National Institute on Drug abuse reports in its study �s7on,itorinQ th� Futc�r� Sfudv: Trer�ds ir� Pr�v�lence �f Var�rous �rc.�u�s 58 percent of 12th graders reported consuming alcohol in the past year in 2015. Additionally, 35 percent of respondents reported having used marijuana in the past year, and over 21 percent had said they used the drug within a month of taking the survey. Alcohol and marijuana are both illegal substances for 1 S year olds in every state, but that didn't stop these teens from finding a way to obtain them. It is clear criminalizing the use of these substances has not been an efficient deterrent. Perhaps the strongest argument against these proposals is that they limit individual freedom and make the government the arbiter of what is moral. Bureaucrats have become the nation's nannies, babying each one of us from our first moments on Earth until our very last breath. At the age of 18, a person enters new parameters of life. They are able to go to war, to vote, to be held legally responsible for contracts that can amass significant debt, such as credit cards and student loans, and at 18 years old, a person can and will be defined as an adult in a court of law. But despite all of the responsibilities the govemment heaps on young adults, many officials believe they simply can't handle making tobacco-related—or even electronic cigarette-related—decisions. It's time to let our adults be just that: adults. The evidence shows increasing the age limit required to consume tobacco and e-cigarettes will be a wasted effort that could actually lead to negative externalities, such as a loss of tax revenues, wasting police resources, and higher smoking rates. Even worse, it would send a false and dangerous message to an entire generation of Americans that it is proper for the government to tell adults how to live their lives." l�ii��1:1/�.rwv,lw.ii��ici��urc�:.e�r��i/s�'t�i��-��c�uld-r�a�t-in�i-ease-to��cco-��-a�-�o-?�J I think we should all think carefully about what she had so say. Where is the boundary line that government should not cross? Where is the limits of what they can tell adults they can or cannot do, especially when it comes to only limiting certain adults? Why would a product be only a risk for a limited population of adults, and not a risk to adults of any age? If the product is that bad, then shouldn't it be illegal for everyone? Even if I look at kids making bad choices, it was their choice. Where are the adults who should be supervising them? Parents, teachers, coaches, ministers, youth group leaders, etc. should be monitoring what young people are doing and taking steps to avoid or stop unacceptable behaviors. Where are the efforts to teach children to make good choices and to think for themselves and not follow someone else as if they were a sheep? I do not believe it is OK to take a right away from a set group of adults because of something some kids might do. That would be like expecting you to go to jail for a crime that I committed. It just isn't right. It is also not right to penalize a whole group of adults because a few of them have broken the law and purchased for others. Again, it would be like passing a law that no one can drink because a few have driven drunk, or purchased alcohol for those who shouldn't drink. I hope you put a lot of thought into this before you think about writing an ordinance like the tobacco 21 laws some groups are asking for. (�l. '�� rC�Gi��; ��,�. �j� �� a Y1 �Git'��v� r ��1� �G� ,`�S . � ��`�� --, /" . � � � � � v ' Leadin9 the way toward a Smoke-�ree Ptmerica �in�es�►ta ��noke-free � THR4LIFE is a non-profit 501(c)(3) ' ' ' 1 ' Background: Tobacco 21 is an initiative to raise the minimum le al sales a e MLSA for 9 9 ( ) ' tobacco and vapor products. Proponents of this measure are admittedly crusading the state of Minnesota in an effort to convince municipalities to participate in the agenda, in hopes they can eventually convince lawmakers to pass the policy at a state level. ' While on the surface 'raising the smoking age' may seem like a noble idea, upon further investigation, we find any potential benefit of the policy to be outweighed by the potential harm. ' Objective: In this presentation, we aim to separate fact from speculation and misinformation by ' outlining popular claims made by Tobacco 21 proponents, followed by the results of our research and analysis. ' Our Mission: Tobacco Harm Reduction 4 Life (THR4Life) was established to help smokers regain control over their lives by providing balanced and accurate information about tobacco ' harm reduction. We believe that honesty and transparency in public health is imperative to the long term well being of our communities. We assert that the best way to protect future generations from the harms of tobacco, is to begin with the adults in their lives. We advocate for � the technological innovation of tobacco harm reduction as paving the way toward a smoke-free future, a healthier population, and a cleaner environment. ' ' � ' ' , ' , ' ' 2 ' � Rai in the minimum le a/a e to urchase tobacco roducts will redu e h m ' s g g g p p c t e a ount of tobacco use by high school students. ' 3 ' Tobacco 21 sets the stage for black market, ncreas a� tobacco access amon outh 9Y ' Under Tobacco 21 laws, cities lose revenue to neighboring cities and states while simultaneously setting the stage for a bolstered black market for cigarettes in our schools. Nothing is stopping a ' motivated 18-year-old from simply driving to neighboring cities or states, picking up cigarettes, and driving back to capitalize on the new business opportunity. This idea is nothing new. Many Minnesota smokers make the trek to North Dakota and Wisconsin for tax-free smokes since Minnesota raised the ' sin tax on cigarettes. Furthermore, cigarettes can easily be purchased online, duty-free. Keep in mind, these young "entrepreneurs"will not be requiring age verification for sales. ' Prohibition is a failed strategy History repeats itself; this is indisputable. Looking at our history can provide us with clarity and wisdom in ' making future decisions. When considering whether or not to enact a new prohibition, it is critical that we take a look at the results of similar prohibitive measures. ' Alcohol prohibition was a failed strategy ' The United States has a complex history regarding the legalization of dangerous drugs. In 1920, the 18th Amendment banned the sale of alcohol. The amendment aimed to stem what was seen as a growing moral decay of sociery and eventually led to the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women ' the right to vote. But the 18th Amendment had some other major consequences as well. It helped create an epidemic of ' organized crime, giving rise to the era of AI Capone and others. It also cut down on tax revenues that could have helped the United States during the start of the Great Depression. In 1933, the 21 st Amendment was approved, repealing the disastrous attempt at prohibition authorized by the 18th ' Amendment. Raising the drinking age increased college i�inge drinking, does not prevent youth access ' Since raisin the drinkin a e to 21, g g g COLLEGE STUDE(1TS � ' there's been an increase in college binge drinking (ages 18-24). According °'� n � �`� to the CDC, "people aged 12 to 20 years � ' �� ' drink 11 percent of all alcohol consumed orrnueme�i�mae�u�re in the United States. More than 90 iINGE percent of this alcohol is consumed in the ' form of binge drinks. On average, 60.3Yooffulltimesollege ,RINKE�� underaae drinkers consume more drinks studentsaredrinkers per drinking occasion than adult drinkers." ' Alcohol is responsible for the deaths over 1,000 people in the U.S. between the age of 18-24 every year. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says that even though the "21 year-old ' ' 4 ' drinkin a e has been in lace for over 25 ears we are still facin an environment ' 9 9 p Y , J where drinking by people ' under 21 is the norm." Mare Aclolesc��s Use Alcoliol Tl�n Use Ciyarettes or Marijuaix� 50 Statistically, more teens use alcohol, Eventually for women the cigarette came to symbolize 'rebellious independence'. Women who otherwise wouldn't have smoked, began smoking as a statement of social and qolitical activism. This is a prime example of psychological reactance in regard to a tobacco prohibition, specifically one that unequally ' discriminated against a particular demographic of U.S. adults. This prohibitive attempt was rendered ' ' ' S ' ineffective at accomplishing the desired outcome, and resulted in an increase in smoking among the targeted demographic. ' All of this proves that prohibition and restriction do not work. Eve time the United States has o ted to rY p , ban some kind of drug in some shape or form, a thriving drug trade has been born. Is that the kind of future we want to create for our children and our society? This kind of solution is not the kind that the state of Minnesota should pursue. Raising the age for tobacco consumption and purchase will not stem ' usage. Tobacco 21 laws push youth toward traditional cigarettes ' Tobacco 21 does nothing to prevent youth from obtaining cigarettes through other common means such as stealing them from a store or a parent, obtaining them consensually from a friend or ' family member over the age of 21, or even scavenging ash trays outside of grocery stores and gas stations. , Tobacco 21 prevents adults age 18-20 from access to smoke-free vapor products, which the Royal College of Physicians has concluded to be at IE 5t �� ;E nt i��ss har�nf��l_than srnoklllq. This measure � is poised to keep the 90 percent of people who start smoking before the age of 18, bound to cigarettes for three additional years, hardening an addiction to smoking. ' In a recently published National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper titled "The Effects of � cigart�Ytc� Mi��>>un Lega_I SaIE E�ge L��ws_on � vuth S�, ��tance U��.", researCh supported by the National Institutes of Health concluded that laws banning sales of e-cigarettes to young adults , actually pushes youth toward traditional cigarettes. Strict enforcement of these laws is linked to an increase in youth smokinq participation of 0.7 to 1.4 percentage points. The study concludes that the unintended consequences of these laws is concerning and may have a negative impact on public ' health. Tobacco 21 laws do not prevent 18 - 20 year olds from smoking. Under this policy, adults (age 18 - 20) ' are still legally allowed to possess and use tobacco products. Tobacco 21 simply creates an easily surmountable hurdle for those that smoke to obtain cigarettes, while discouraging access to and education in tobacco harm reduction products. ' ' � Needham Mass. saw a 48% decrease in youth smoking rates after implementing Tobacco 21. ' � �� Tobacco 21 proponents often cite Needham, Mass. as their golden example of the policy's success. Unfortunately, their claims are misleading, as they fall short of telling the whole story. The Boston suburb did see an impressive 48% reduction in teen smoking rates from 2006 to 2012 after ' implementing the policy, however, as Needham's director of public health points out, the city had enacted multiple other tobacco control efforts at the same time. "I wouldn't say iYs all because of this [Tobacco 21]," she told WNYC. Additionally, 'the study analyzed data starting in 2006, a year after the ' 6 ' purchasing age hike. Kessel Schneider, study co-author, acknowledged this as a ossible limitation to ' P the research as it's unclear exactly how teen smoking was trending in Needham during the years , leading up to the policy change'. The entire nation's smoking rates have been steadily declining for decades, reaching historic lows; ' Needham is hardly an exception. For example, from 2011 to 2016, Minnesota's youth smoking rates declined by 56% despite having no Tobacco 21 laws in place. Out of the 2 states and 200 plus communities that have passed this policy, this out of context and ' inconclusive example of Needham, Mass. remains the only statistical claim of Tobacco 21 success. ' � Nicotine is highly addictive and dangerous. ' � � The popular perception has long been that it is the nicotine that `addicts' people to smoking, but according to a number of recent studies, including one by the Royal College of Physicians ' (RCP), this is not the case. The RCP is one of the most respected medical research groups in the world, and was the the first to tell us smoking is dangerous. In their 2016 report"Nicotine without smoke: Tobacco harm reduction", RCP reports that nicotine, when isolated from the other chemicals in � tobacco cigarettes, is relatively benign in its harm, benefit, and addictiveness (compare to caffeine), and that the most harmful and addictive property of tobacco cigarettes �s not the nicot�ne, rather it is the chemical laced smoke of combustible tobacco that is to blame for tobacco related cancers, ' diseases, and addiction. This is why tobacco companies add thousands of additional chemicals to tobacco - to create an addiction above and beyond simple nicotine. This is echoed b the FDA which claims "althou h an nicotine-containin roduct is otentiall ' Y , 9 Y 9p P Y addictive, decades of research and use have shown that NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) products ' sold OTC do not appear to have significant potential for abuse or dependence." To date, there are no documented cases of nicotine patches, gums, or lozenges creating addiction in users. Nicotine may be the most well known chemical in cigarettes, but is not the culprit when it comes to cancer and other ' tobacco related disease. Smokina c ,�,,_ses cance�, r;�,, ,��n� does not. The notion that nicotine is addictive dates back to the introduction of Nicorette in the 1980s, when for the , first time in history smokers were labelled as "addicts" - as people with no willpower- unable to give up cigarettes without pharmaceutical nicotine products. Claims that `nicotine is more addictive than heroin' were touted from the official "Surgeon General" report, "Nicotine Addiction", published in 1988. These ' findings were that of prominent anti-tobacco `experts', who were later found in a 2014 Washington DC court case to have significant financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, particularity in the nicotine replacement thera�y market, during the time they were designated by the US government as scientific ' editors of the official "Surgeon General" reports on tobacco. A judgment ordered the FDA to remove these experts from Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) because of their extensive ' conflicts of interest with pharmaceutical companies. According to the presiding judge over the case, their recommendations must be considered "suspecY' and "at worst unreliable" because of their long-standing , ' ' 7 ' financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies. However, this has not stopped groups with special interests from cherry-picking "facts" from these reports. ' The alarmist claims that 'nicotine is the addictive and harmful as ect of smokin ' are rooted in corru t p 9 p financial interests of pharmaceutical corporations trying to gain a monopoly on the nicotine market through NRT cessation products. ' The e-cigarette has been a threat to the pharmaceutical nicotine profits, since it succeeded in taking half of the Nicorette market in 2012. Survey results in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine revealed respondents using e-cigarettes more than 20 times per day had a quit rate of 70.0%. Of those , who had stayed off the smokes for 6 months; 34.3% were not using e-cigarettes or any nicotine-containing products by that point. ' These results are astounding compared to endorsed nicotine replacement therapies that are far more expensive. For example, a study on the effectiveness of nicotine patches found just 8.2% had abstained from smoking after 24 weeks. In a study of those using nicotine chewing gum, only 7.7% of the ' prescribed gum group and 8.4% in the over the counter gum group were not smoking at six months. ' Smokers who switch to vaping are using a harm reduction method to abstain from cigarettes, and are able to detox the chemicals that are [intentionally] added to tobacco cigarettes to create an addiction above and beyond nicotine, while still satisfying cravings and oral fixation through a clean delivery ' system for nicotine suspended in vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol (both of which have been FDA approved for medical use for years.) , � Vaping is a gateway to smoking, re-normalizes smoking. ' � � Though repeated by many anti-tobacco groups, this speculation has no factual or statistical supporting basis. After a decade on the market, there is still no evidence that vaping is a , gateway to smoking. Rather, there is evidence of the contrary. The CDC's rnost recent data should put to rest the contention that electronic cigarettes are a gateway to smoking among youth. This new data shows that the prevalence of smoking among high school students was cut in half in just five years-from ' 2011 to 2016 - at the same time as the use of e-cigarettes among these very same students increased dramatically from 1.5% to a peak of 16.0% in 2015. �DC;een 5��;�ori'ng &�dap.,ng kates ' Not only has youth smoking declined at an unprecedented pace in the last � ' five years, but for the first time, the ` � prevalence of youth use of e-cigarettes has also declined, , dropping from 16.0% in 2015 to 11.3% in 2016 (among high school students). Use of cigarettes among "��` ``�� ,,� '°'s z°�6 ' ..... , , -__. n_ ci� �ia �15 za�e '- i:' ' 8 ' high school students continued to fall between 2015 and 2016, dropping from 9.3% to 8.0%. ' This is great news because it reveals that smoking is truly becoming unpopular among youth. The rate of decline in youth smoking is unprecedented. This despite the rapid rise in e-cigarette experimentation. These data are simply not consistent with the hypothesis that vaping is going to re-normalize ' smoking and that e-cigarettes are a gateway to youth smoking. The drop in e-cigarette use is also reassuring because it suggests that vaping is largely a social ' phenomenon that involves experimentation and that the addictive potential of these products is quite low. It also suggests that the popularity of youth vaping has peaked and that concerns about vaping taking over and leading to nicotine addiction among a huge proportion of youth are not warranted. ' Landmark studies from Th� f�;o al College c�f F�.h�soc��ns, ��_�a�,l+c:_f�t :,,d;w� 1� t�a�ly anci, among others have determined vaping does not act as a route into smoking for children or non-smokers. , � Smoking causes 480,000 death per year in the U.S., and is responsible for approx$3 ' billion in annual excess medical expenditures in Minnesota. According to the Royal College of Physicians' report `Nicotine without smoke: tobacco ' harm reduction', vaping has the potential to eliminate virtually all tobacco related harm. Researchers have concluded that e-cigarettes are beneficial to public health; that `smokers can , therefore be reassured and encouraged to use them, and the public can be reassured that e-cigarettes are much safer than smoking.' 11 million smokers have already successfully quit smoking by switching to vaping. Vaping has the potential to eradicate smoking in the U.S., alleviating the � death toll and cost burden associated with smoking. F'ubiir t�r��lil� f ��I:+r�.ci has already taken steps to promote vaping as a safer alternative to smoking. Bristol city council and public health officials have , even offered carbon monoxide testing outside of local vape shops as an effort to pE��5� ��n�ok�rs_to svv_itch to va If1C. ' � Ado/escents who smoke are 3x more likely to use alcohol, 8x more likely to use Marijuana, and 22x more likely to use cocaine. ' • • This claim illustrates that the legal status of a substance is not a barrier to youth who want ' to use it, and that 'raising the smoking age' is an ineffective way to combat youth smoking. The age to purchase alcohol is 21 and has been for around 30 years. Marijuana and cocaine are illegal ' to purchase regardless of age. Though youth who experiment these substances may also smoke cigarettes, they do not use these substances because of cigarettes. Youth who have a proclivity toward using illicit and restricted substances, clearly do so reaardless of age limit and legal status. There is no ' clear evidence that nicotine drives adolescents to use illicit substances. Rather, compromised psychological and emotional well being, and lack of awareness of the dangers and consequences, are to ' ' ' 9 Meanwhile, tobacco control groups are taking the exact opposite approach. Not only are they overwhelming youth with negative statistics about the smoking rates of their peers, they are going as far as to negatively single out specific demographical groups, such as the LGBTQ the community. ' For example: "If you identify as LGBTQ and are 18-24, you're nearly 2x as likely to smoke as your straight peers." - Truth Initiative ' ' ' 10 ' This message directly segregates a group of young adults based on their sexual identity, and targets ' them by using what is known as the `nocebo effecY to instill negative programming and subsequently, negative outcome. ' On a broader scale, tobacco control groups use this same nocebo effect through Tobacco 21, by negatively portraying the competency of young adults to make their own choices regarding tobacco use, ' as well as the ability of underage teens to, "just say no", by suggesting the government go as far as to step in and take rights away from legal adults to `protect the youth'. The underlying message here is that "we don't believe in the youth to make good choices". This sends the message to teens and young adults that they are so incapable of making good choices that they require government intervention. This also reinforces the notion that smoking is of such prevalence, that drastic measures are being taken � by municipalities to stop it. To an adolescent brain that is so "vulnerable" to suggestion, this is a dangerous misconception. ' Tobacco control groups should take the advice from the MDOH, and focus more attention on celebrating our unprecedented and continued decline in youth and adult smoking. A quick look at the latest CDC ' data on youth smoking shows that our youth have already proven themselves responsible and worthy of our respect when it comes to making choices regarding tobacco use. , Contrary to popular belief, young adults are very informed about the dangers of smoking and using tobacco. If we are expecting young men and women to live and die for this country, we should ' give them all possible and reasonable freedoms. The decision of an adult to use tobacco or vapor products should not be decided by the government. That decision should come from each individual. , � 70% of Minnesota adults are � il M� �3��(� �� tic Polls in favor of enacting Tobacco 21 laws. ' Tobacco 21 An average taken of 2017 Should Minnesota 'raise the smoking age'to 21? Minnesota public polls show 71% Of Glencoe, MN-The McLeod County Chronicle:No 61%Yes 34% ' respondents oppose `raising the Hutchinson,MN-Hutchinson Leader:No 50%Yes 49% Mower County,MN-Ka�s AM 1480: No 84%Yes 16% smoking age' t0 2�. Wilmar, MN-West Central Tribune: No 65%Yes 33% ' St. Cloud, MN-WJON AM 1240: No 66%Yes 33% Minniapolis, MN-Star Tribune: No 80%Yes 20% Rochester, MN-Post Bulletin:No 67°/a Yes 33% � 65% of OUI1 @O le are in St.Cloud, MN-98.1 Country: No 75%Yes 25% � y 9 P /� Rochester,MN-Rock 107.7: No 94/o Yes 6/o favor of raising the smoking age. 71% of respondents said, "NO!" � � Anti-smoking groups often The People Oppose Tobacco 21! , coach high school students into speaking 6�23;17 TobaccoHarmReduction4Life THR4Life.org � in support of Tobacco 21, while concurrently claiming that youth under the age of 21 are not developed enough to comprehend the ' ramifications of decisions such as whether or not to use nicotine. This is contradicting- if youth are not capable of making sound decisions until after they are 21, how then are they capable of comprehending , ' ' 11 ' the consequences of enacting laws that remove the rights of legal adults to make decisions for themselves, and add to the erosion of autonomy of U.S. citizens? ' Moreover, if this number is accurate, then this is great news because it indicates that this percentage of people is not interested in smoking. This is not the demographic that we need to worry about, as they are ' already inclined to be non-smokers. Rather, it is the alleged 35% of those who are not in favor of such a policy, that need our focus, as they are more likely to become smokers, and even more likely to do so out ' of psychological reactance after their right to choose as adults, is stripped. ' THR4Life Recom nendation When considering the harm reduction benefits of vaping and the dangers of smoking, it may seem logical � to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21, while keeping the age to purchase vapor products at 18. While this could encourage adults over the age of 18 to choose vaping over smoking, we still need to consider the potential psychological backlash of removing freedom from legal adults. The ' last thing we want is to do is risk hardening a young person's preference toward smoking, by turning smoking into a form of political activism or rebellion. � Given the fact that our youth smoking and vaping rates are already steadily declining, we find tampering with this continued progress by adopting Tobacco 21 policies, to be hazardous to public health. We � strongly advise legislators to consider the `big picture' and the potential harm this legislation carries with it. Smoking and vaping are both losing popularity among youth, and community leaders should strive to protect this progress by opposing Tobacco 21. ' Tobacco 21 is a poor method of addressing tobacco use and the ordinance should not be adopted into law. ` "I silppol•� t)�e goal of 1•educi�tg sntoki�tc� b� �ot��zg :�Irrirzeso�aiis;"lie said. "HOi[�ei�ei•,�eo�le tc�110 ar•e ' Y8, Y9 nrzd_�o years otd c�r�e legall� adi�?ts aitci s)tottic� c�erterall� be allozc�ed to make tlie scrTlie � pei•soi2al decisiorts ns older c�dults." ' � . � � - . , - . � ' 12 ' Nicotine without smoke: Tobacco harm reduction ' https://www.rcplond � ac.��r ��;_�,;ects/oi,�utsii�i��t��-_vv�thout sn;oke-tobac.c�_"aiir�_reduct�on-0 Promote e-cigarettes widely as substitute for smoking says new RCP report ' htt�s://www.rcplon_d_on_.ac.ukl_��ews/proi�ote-e_c�rettes widel -y substitute s�7 _�K rc� �a�s ��P��v rc�-rep�ri E-cigarettes around 95% less harmful than tobacco estimates landmark ' � � 3' _ �F.=.�_��—�� — ` ,�� k�.i�+o�f�4f lr��t� tot��c � � ��stiiii�i'�� review:https://www_r av ��k:� �vc�r„n��ent/news i aret es-aroun - J C,y_ s-lancimark-revie�_ � Tobacco Use Among Middle and High School Students— United States, 2011-2016: r'.�S '/l�V VV_C'U �.:70V I '�:V✓� v ��.I1`"ic'� ��EJ��1' fTlfl�l)�Z_i�a �'�'l�l ' li'1=i1i1111ih �� V'J � E-Cigarettes Do Not Promote Cancer Growth in Lab Tests: r1tt��ilP`NSrOOIYI WI��COI71�rP`i-� 'E,<�Sc r�;V!f )Il. IE�': :!1 , .,_' _�_ ;i_" ` �.__. �s _� _ t _ _ � �,�-� � �� c > s,E � �rPtfies-dc nc r 7 � � ��t r,�t�ic ��_r_ic r r �t�>e✓ 0 efz__ British city council to advocate vaping on No Smoking Day: � drtt�> •i��r� i�,��l�f9i�eo�c;e c urt_i;i��ii�.l_7- �ty ,,_�:�,ttcii-�:irivc��._+tt'� �� . .�.! r�� ;�_; ��i�,ki�� r1,_iy_: The Effects of E-Cigarette Minimum Legal Sale Age Laws on Youth Substance Use: � http_;,'U�ww_nber.orglpa_pers/w23313 Comparison of select analytes in aerosol from e-cigarettes with smoke from conventional cigarettes and ' with ambient air: http://www.sciencedirect.com/sciencF -��;ic;i�i ii/p S0273230014002505 ' ' , ' � ' � '