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September 18, 2018 <br />Mayor Jerry Faust <br />St. Anthony Village City Council <br />3301 Silver Lake Road <br />St. Anthony, MN 55418 <br /> <br />Dear Mayor Faust and Members of the City Council: <br /> <br />On behalf of Hennepin County Public Health, I commend you for identifying ways to limit youth <br />access to tobacco in the City of St. Anthony Village. Tobacco use is still the No. 1 preventable <br />cause of death and disease. One in seven deaths in Hennepin County is tobacco-related resulting in $585 million in excess medical costs annually, a tax burden of $753 per household. For years, adolescent tobacco use rates have been declining. Nine percent of 11th grade students use conventional tobacco products—cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco (MN Student Survey-Suburban Hennepin County, 2016). However, use of e-cigarettes has gone up dramatically. Statewide, youth tobacco use has increased for the first time in 17 years, largely driven by the use of e-cigarette products. Nearly all tobacco users start before the age of 21, and many young people turn to older friends as a source for tobacco products. Increasing the minimum sales age for tobacco from 18 to 21 can dramatically curtail initiation by youth. Hennepin County Public Health, through funding from the Minnesota Department of Health’s Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP), works to decrease tobacco’s harm and <br />tobacco-related disparities. Please consider us as a resource, as you consider and implement <br />tobacco prevention measures. Thank you for your leadership on this important public health <br />issue. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like additional information. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> Ruth Tripp, MPH, RN <br />Principal Health Promotion Specialist <br />85