6.c Washington County comments on proposed tobacco ordinanceRECEIVED
MAY 17 2019
Council Members,
QTY OF SCANDIA
Please include the following comments as a part of the public record in the public hearing on your
proposed Ordinance to regulate the possession, sale, and consumption of tobacco products within the
City of Scandia.
The Washington County Board of Commissioners has not established a formal policy position related to
the topic of tobacco sales. Its past practice has been to support efforts to prevent the use of tobacco
products by youth. The County is an active member in the Minnesota Inter -County Association, the
Association of Minnesota Counties and one of its affiliate organizations, and the Local Public Health
Association (LPHA). Each of these organizations support legislative and policy initiatives to reduce youth
access to tobacco and nicotine and other prevention strategies to reduce tobacco's impact on public
health. The proliferation of e -cigarette use, or vaping, and the potential for increasing nicotine addiction
especially among youth is alarming. The Minnesota Department of Health recommends preventing
youth access to e -cigarettes and all tobacco products. Licensing and other regulations related to
tobacco, tobacco products, nicotine or other tobacco related devices play a critical role in prevention
strategies.
I commend you on your progressive stance to limit the sale of tobacco products to those of and over the
age of 21. By increasing the age eligibility, you will protect not only those age 18-20 but also those
students in schools ages 12-17 who presumably have closer contact with 18 years olds in high school.
I would like to draw specific attention to Section 10: B, C, and D which are specific to possession, use and
procurement by minors and Section 13: C(3) which addresses Administrative Penalties. Public health
agencies generally discourage the use of possession, use, and purchase (PUP) laws as they are unlikely
to significantly reduce youth smoking. The Public Health Law Center (at Mitchell Hamline School of Law)
and other organizations in our state including the Minnesota Department of Health, Clear Way, and the
American Lung Association, do not recommend regulatory ordinances that penalize people under the
age of 21 for the attempted or actual purchase or possession of tobacco. PUP penalties may undermine
other conventional, more -effective avenues of youth discipline, divert attention from other effective
tobacco control strategies, and relieve the tobacco industry of responsibility for its marketing practices.
Therefore it is recommend that all PUP language be removed from local ordinances.
If a community finds it desirable to include some aspect of PUP content a phrase with an alternative
action such as, "Individuals under the age of 21 who unlawfully purchase or attempt to purchase
tobacco products may be subject to completing tobacco -related education classes, diversion programs,
or community service programs" is considered a better approach. Your ordinance already includes
similar language. Should you decide to retain some aspect of PUP — I would recommend this
language. For more information on PUP language see the Public Health Law Center's Tobacco 21
Sample Ordinance which can be found on their website:
lift )s: ublictiealthlawceiitei-.or sites default files resources hic-Tobacco-21-Ordinance-2016. df.
I hope you will consider these comments as your develop your Ordinance. Please feel free to reach out
to our Department if we might assist you in any way.
Lowell Johnson I Director
Washington County Public Health and Environment
14949 62nd Street North, Stillwater, MN 55082
651-430-6725