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To: St. Anthony Village City Council <br />From: Charlie Yunker, Assistant to the City Manager <br />Re: Tobacco 21 <br />Date: August 5, 2019 <br /> <br /> <br />Overview <br />Staff was asked to provide information regarding raising the age from 18 to 21 to purchase tobacco <br />products within the City of St. Anthony. In recent years a number of cities and counties have raised the <br />minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21 (map attached). These include the metro area cities of Arden <br />Hills, Bloomington, Brooklyn Center, Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little <br />Canada, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, New Brighton, North Oaks, Plymouth, Richfield, Robbinsdale, <br />Roseville, Shoreview, and St. Louis Park. As well as Hennepin County, that regulates Greenfield, <br />Rockford, Rogers, Mound, St. Bonifacius and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. <br /> <br />The intention of this approach is to increase the age gap between kids and those who can legally buy <br />tobacco, to help keep tobacco out of the high school environment. According to a 2017 Minnesota <br />Department of Health advisory on nicotine (attached), teens are especially susceptible to nicotine <br />addiction and the harmful effects of nicotine on the developing brain. According to the Minnesota <br />Department of Health, nearly all tobacco users start before age 21, and results from the 2017 Minnesota <br />Youth Tobacco Survey revealed that one in four students still use tobacco products of some kind. <br /> <br />Process <br />If the council wishes to pursue a more restrictive regulation of the sale of tobacco than what is currently <br />authorized under state law, there are statutory requirements that must be met for notifying license <br />holders. Minnesota Statute 461.19 (attached) outlines these requirements, which includes sending a <br />mailed notice to license holders at least 30 days prior to the meeting where the proposed ordinance will <br />be discussed. <br /> <br />Staff would recommend holding a meeting with the current tobacco license holders for any questions or <br />concerns. Current tobacco license holders are: <br />• Cub Foods <br />• Holiday <br />• Murphy Service Center <br />• Saint Anthony Village Wine & Spirits – Marketplace <br />• Saint Anthony Village Wine & Spirits – Silver Lake Village <br />• Speedway <br />• Walgreens <br /> <br />