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Attachment A Regular City Council Meeting Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 9 358 Ms. Jessica Lopez-Lyman, Wewers Road 359 Ms. Lopez-Lyman was speaking to support the ban of all flavored tobacco prod- 360 ucts in Roseville. She and her husband are first time parents and moved to Rose- 361 ville. She explained she is a professor of Chicano and Latino studies at the Uni- 362 versity of Minnesota. One of the things she teaches her students is harm reduc- 363 tion. In order to combat racism, poverty, and immense disparities in housing, ed- 364 ucation, employment, and healthcare, they must make strategic actions to reduce 365 harm for communities of color who are impacted severely by these injustices. 366 The tobacco industry, specifically with the sale of flavored tobacco products has 367 taken advantage of people of color for far too long. Eighty-five percent of people 368 of color over twelve years old who smoke, smoke menthol compared to twenty- 369 nine percent white smokers. Smoking kills roughly six thousand Minnesotans an- 370 nually. This last year, the Minnesota House Select Committee on Racial Justice 371 released a report to the Legislature that listed tobacco use as a contributor to 372 health disparities in Minnesota. The report supports a policy banning the sale of 373 mental and flavored products to help reduce racial disparities. There is a plethora 374 of factors that everyone knows that produces poor quality of life for people of 375 color. Fighting systemic racism can seem daunting when the network of factors 376 engage several areas of public life. Ms. Lopez-Lyman commented that stopping 377 the sale of flavored tobacco is one small action that can create a positive tangible 378 impact. More than seventeen Minnesota communities have passed flavored to- 379 bacco restrictions and a 2020 statewide poll found that seventy-four percent of 380 Minnesotans support prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products including 381 menthol cigarettes. She urged the Mayor and City Council to protect the health of 382 communities of color. She asked them to vote yes to the ban on the sale of all fla- 383 vored tobacco products, including menthol in Roseville. 384 385 Ms. Claire Chang, Lovell Avenue 386 Ms. Chang stated she is a senior program officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of 387 Minnesota (BCBS). She explained BCBS is unwavering in its commitment to re- 388 ducing commercial tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke rooted in its 389 partnership with the State of Minnesota first lawsuit of its kind against big to- 390 bacco in 1994. She wanted to stress to the City Council the costs of smoking, not 391 just in terms of health but also in terms of the financial costs that comes to all of 392 them. Smoking takes the lives of 6,300 Minnesotans each year. These products 393 have a negative impact on health and currently 5.3 million youth are using e-ciga- 394 rettes in the US, including thousands that call Minnesota home. This will bring 395 significant costs to their health in the future and to Minnesota. The staggering 396 costs of tobacco in both health care costs and loss of life cannot be compared to 397 the loss in profits for those who want to continue to sell these lethal products. She 398 indicated as a resident of Roseville for over twenty-five years, including as a Girl 399 Scout leader and a Sunday school teacher, she is well aware of the concerns par- 400 ents in Roseville have for their childrenÓs vulnerability to tobacco and the target- 401 ing of their children to experiment with tobacco. She strongly urged the Council