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r4CALIFORNIARETAILERSkilSSOCIATION <br />December 21, 2021 <br />Re: Ordinance Prohibiting the Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products <br />Dear Members of the Santa Ana City Council: <br />On behalf of the California Retailers Association (CRA), inclusive of our grocery and retail <br />pharmacy members, we respectfully urge the Council to refrain from passing a prohibition on the sale of <br />flavored tobacco products. California has already raised the age requirement for purchasing tobacco to <br />21,which has shown to be the most effective way to prevent adolescent tobacco/nicotine use. <br />Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are at all-time youth usage lows since the law raising the minimum <br />age of purchase to 21 went into effect and bans of vaping products discourage current smokers from <br />switching to less harmful options. <br />The California Retailers Association is the only statewide trade association representing all <br />segments of the retail industry including general merchandise, department stores, mass merchandisers, <br />fast food restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets and grocery stores, chain drug, and specialty <br />retail such as auto,vision,jewelry, hardware and home stores. CRA works on behalf of California's retail <br />industry, which currently operates over 164,200 stores and employs around 2,776,000 people— <br />nearly one fifth of California's total employment. <br />Prohibition never works, especially at a local level with a patchwork of ordinances throughout <br />the state—there is a statewide ballot initiative that Californians are already scheduled to vote on next <br />year, addressing this issue at a statewide level. If this ban is approved, consumers can simply go outside <br />the city limits to obtain products, costing the city legal tax revenues. There are currently 89 legal, <br />responsible tobacco retailers in Santa Ana, and 85% are minority-owned. The small business community <br />is still recovering from COVID-19 and with variants like Omicron spreading, a ban like this could put <br />many out of business. <br />Sincerely, <br />Ryan Allain <br />Manager, State and Local Government Affairs <br />California Retailers Association <br />1121 L Street, Suite 607 • Sacramento, CA 95814 • P: 916/443-1975 • www.calretailers.com