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flavors, at all places, in all products, period. The African American Tobacco T Control Leadership oun t. - avj"R fl14wA-LrW1 �- We Can't Wait on the State or the FDA The AATCLC is calling upon the Santa Ana City Council to join a growing number of cities, counties and states around the country that are prohibiting,jurisdiction-wide, the sales of menthol cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco products. In June 2018, San Francisco voters passed the first ever citywide restriction on the sales of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes and flavored e-cigarette juices. This "strongest flavor ban law ever" was rapidly replicated in the numerous cities in California and around the Country, including Oakland,Alameda, Hayward, Fremont, Berkeley and Sacramento,just to mention a few. Today over 60 municipalities prohibit the sale of all menthol tobacco products including flavored e juices https:Hno-smoke.or�4/wp-content/uploads/pdf/flavored-tobacco-product-sales.pdf Indeed, in June of 2020, the State of Massachusetts became the first State to prohibit the sale of menthol and all flavored tobacco products state-wide and in August of 2020 California followed suit and became the second state to do so. With the tobacco industry forcing a referendum of SB 793, it becomes even more imperative that local jurisdictions take steps to protect their citizenry. We can't wait on the State, let's take steps to make Santa Ana healthier now! And while it is important that the FDA finally began the rulemaking process in April of 2021 to remove menthol cigarettes and flavored little cigars from the marketplace, this process will take years. First, the proposed rule will not be made public until April of 2022. Then, after 60-day public comment period, the tobacco industry will demand more time for comment, that has been granted in the past. Drawing out the comment period to 90 to 120 days. Once the public comment is over, the "rule" is sent to the Office of Management and Budget(OMB), who's review could take a number of months. Once a final rule is made public and there is more public comment, the industry will sue to stop the process from going forward. And may sue for numerous reasons. The bottom line is that we can't wait of the FDA. Localities, like Santa Ana, must take steps to protect the health of their citizens, lives are at stake. Who Are the Racists: The Tobacco Control Advocates or the Tobacco Industry? We should note that some groups, spurred on and funded by the tobacco industry, have been spreading falsehoods, stating that restricting the sale of menthol and flavored tobacco products, including flavored e juices will lead to the"criminalization" of particularly young Black men. Nothing could be further from the truth. All ordinances adopted around the country would prohibit the sale of flavored products, it would not prohibit the possession of these products. The facts are that the adoption of menthol restrictions will not lead to police having any greater interaction with any youth; it won't be illegal to possess these products,just retailers cannot sell them. Indeed, when these ordinances were passed in Oakland and San Francisco, the Police Chiefs stood with us and said there would be no arrest for possession of these products.