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Attachment F th January 5, 2021 Roseville City Hall 2660 Civic Center Drive Roseville, MN, 55113 Dear Mayor Roe and Council Members, I am writing on behalf of the Twin Cities Medical Society. The Twin Cities Medical Society is an organization that represents approximately 4,500 physicians and medical students living and working in the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area. I am writing in support of Roseville restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol. Our physician members share all too often that tobacco is still a problem for their patients. Tobacco use remains the #1 cause of preventable disease and death in Minnesota. Youth tobacco use in Minnesota has risen for the first time in 17 years, in large part due to e-cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products. Exposure to nicotine during adolescence can cause life-long problems with learning, memory and attention. There is no safe amount of nicotine for young people, and tobacco unfortunately also harms many other Minnesotans. Flavored tobacco products, including menthol, mask the harsh taste of tobacco which makes smoking easy to start and harder to quit. Flavored tobacco is incredibly appealing to young tobacco users, especially when over 15,000 flavors exist on the market at any given time. Some products, like menthol tobacco products, are disproportionately marketed to minority communities such as Black communities, youth, women, and LGBTQ. Given the harms of tobacco products, these communities experience health disparities of tobacco-related illnesses at greater rates. Other communities that have fully restricted flavored tobacco, including menthol, are: Edina, Golden Valley, Arden Hills, Lilydale, and Mendota Heights. Roseville would be in good company and a model to other communities by passing a similar restriction. It is no secret that costs related to tobacco use are incredibly high. Each year, billions of dollars are spent on health care and 1 lost productivity costs-- $3 billion and $4 billion, respectively. Not only are there immediate short and long-term health benefits to quitting tobacco or never using it in the first place, there are huge economic benefits to be gained by decreasing access and preventing young people from ever using tobacco in the first place. A flavor restriction including menthol tobacco. This ordinance stands to have a huge impact if passed, including on health disparities, community health and wellbeing, and economically. I hope we can work together to achieve this goal. Thank you for your leadership on this important issue. Sincerely, Sarah Traxler, MD, MS, FACOG President of the Twin Cities Medical Society 1 ClearWay Minnesota