In Northeastern Minnesota, only Itasca County’s has a higher percentage rate of adult tobacco users (25.5 percent) than Cook and Carlton Counties, which are tied at 21.6 percent. Aitkin has 19.4 percent, St. Louis County, 17.3 percent, and Lake County is at 13.1 percent.
The state average is 14.4 percent.
This was just a tidbit of information presented to the PHHS board at their June monthly meeting.
The report on tobacco and E-cigarette use in Cook County came with a tobacco policy for the board to consider.
According to the Bridge to Health Survey, conducted every five years to collect population-based, health status data, 23 percent of 5th graders believe there are little or no health risks in smoking. The survey covers Douglas County in Wisconsin, Aitkin, Cook, Carlton, Koochiching, Lake, Pine, and St. Louis Counties.
And while the good news is that fewer kids are smoking, nearly one in three ninth graders use E-cigarettes.
Another alarming statistic is that in 2017, youth tobacco use rose for the first time in 17 years in Minnesota. That includes chewing tobacco.
In a study released by the American Lung Association, tobacco-related diseases remain the number 1 cause of death in our state and the nation. With the new “kid-friendly” products like candy of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, e-hookahs, and vape pens, which also typically contain liquid forms of nicotine, children, in particular, are becoming addicted to the products.
Medical experts warn that long-term effects of nicotine on kids may have long-term implications for learning, memory, attention, and behavior problems.
A statewide initiative called Tobacco 21 asks for tobacco products to be sold only to those who are 21 and older. It has already been proven that this helps to prevent younger kids from using tobaccos products and long-term, this will help save lives.
To date, 36 communities in Minnesota have pushed the age to purchase tobacco products to 21, and six states and more than 375 localities have also passed similar ordinances.
By making the age 21, it will limit the access of candy, fruit, and menthol-flavored tobacco products to younger kids. Currently, 18-year-old high school kids can legally purchase vape pens and e-cigarette products. And some of those older students distribute those vaping products to younger school-age children.
In areas where the Tobacco 21 rules have been enacted, those ordinances have cut the age of teens using tobacco or vape pens/e-cigarettes by 25 percent.
As far as retailers losing revenue after Tobacco 21 rules were established, the spokesperson from the American Lung Association who presented the material to PHHS said her organization has received, “zero pushback from retailers,” but has received pushback from those in the vaping community.
One often-heard argument, she said, was if an 18-year-old can go and fight in the military, then they should be allowed to purchase tobacco products. But all branches of the U.S. military are profoundly discouraging their recruits from smoking or using e-cigarettes, she said to the board, laying waste to that argument.
Tobacco 21 has a draft policy that can be modified for communities who want to enact the new rule. This summer, Cook County PHHS will host a community panel discussion on youth vaping and work to find solutions. The decision on whether or not to adopt a Tobacco 21 ordinance within Cook County will be made late summer or early fall.
In other business, the board approved:
. Carrying over two 2018- grant funds into 2019. One was a child protection grant of $28,892.19, and the second was a Universal Home Visiting grant of $11,214.86. The grants were carried over into 2019 at no additional cost to the county.
. A motion was made and carried to approve hiring Matthew Baxley as the fulltime Community Support Provider.
. The board passed a resolution or Managed Care Procurements for families and children, and passed a resolution designating signatory authority for Cook County.
. Citizen representative appointments to the Cook County Local Advisory Council for Mental Health (CCLACMA) were: Inger Andress, Jim Boyd, Jeff Kern, Andrea Orest, Lorrie Oswald, Lin Salisbury and Mary Sanders.
. Recommended and appointed from the existing Public Health and Human Services Committee to the CCLACMA were Carla LaPonte and Jerry Lilja.
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