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Subject: Agenda 9.A - Tobacco Ordinance - flavored tobacco <br /> <br />Redwood City Council members, <br />I'm a Professor at Stanford University and my lab focuses on adolescent tobacco/nicotine use <br />prevention, including preventing cigarette, e-cigarette, hookah, and oral nicotine use (e.g., nicotine <br />pouches). <br />I am writing in strong support of Redwood City’s proposed ordinance to strengthen tobacco retailer <br />permitting and authorize San Mateo County to administer and enforce these regulations within the <br />city. <br />Drawing on my lab’s research and tobacco prevention curriculums that are being used in most <br />schools in California and the U.S., we have seen that flavored tobacco products—including flavored <br />e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah—play a central role in youth initiation and continued use because <br />sweet, mint, and fruit flavors mask the harshness of tobacco and nicotine, make smoke and aerosol <br />easier to inhale, hide their use as they no longer smell like tobacco yet yield the same risks, and <br />create the misperception that these products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. While many <br />believe that hookah use is safe, that is not at all the case. Flavored hookah tobacco is as addictive <br />and harmful as cigarette use. Despite smoke passing through water, it still delivers addictive nicotine, <br />tar, heavy metals, charcoal, and other toxic chemicals. A single hookah session can expose users to <br />high levels of carbon monoxide and other dangerous substances, while shared hoses and <br />mouthpieces increase infection risk. In fact, a 1-hour hookah session (typical timeframe of use) is <br />equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes! <br />By limiting the availability of flavored tobacco products, including flavored hookah, in restaurants and <br />near schools and other youth-populated areas and by ensuring consistent licensing, inspections, and <br />penalties for illegal sales, the proposed ordinance would be a critical step toward reducing youth <br />access, correcting dangerous misperceptions, and protecting the health of adolescents in Redwood <br />City. <br />I respectfully urge you to adopt this ordinance and stand with local schools, families, and health <br />professionals in reducing youth use of flavored tobacco products. <br />Please let me know if I can provide further information. <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br />Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, FSAHM <br />Marron and Mary Elizabeth Kendrick Professor in Pediatrics II <br />Director, Stanford REACH Lab <br />Founder and Executive Director of our FREE Drug Education, Prevention, and Intervention <br />Curriculums: <br />Tobacco Prevention Toolkit | Cannabis Awareness Prevention Toolkit | Drug Prevention & <br />Intervention Toolkit <br />650-678-3773 <br />