In St. Paul, the city council is looking to sway citizens from using tobacco products by increasing prices and making them harder to buy. Today, all seven city council members will introduce a proposal to see prices for a pack of cigarettes rise to a minimum of $10.
St. Paul City Councilmember Nelsie Yang joined News Talk 830 WCCO's Steve Simpson to discuss the proposal and why they are trying to stop residents from smoking.
"I want to share that so many of the changes happening to our St. Paul tobacco ordinance is really an effort to reduce smoking and also prevent smoking amongst our youth and to encourage them to quit smoking as well," Yang said. "Price is the single most important factor in reducing smoking."
Yang shared that a lot of the city council's research for the proposal comes from the Association for Non-Smokers Minnesota. Yang said that the association has been working on changing the ordinance for the last three to four years.
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While the proposal would look to help protect youth exploited by the tobacco industry, Yang also shared that she is working to make sure that people of color are not being taken advantage of.
"This is really, you know, an entire package to directly work on those efforts and really protect our community, knowing that tobacco industries have intentionally targeted people of color, young people to start smoking at a really young age," Yang said.
Knowing that the community she represents is often taken advantage of, Yang supports the proposal even more because she wants to help protect the people she serves.
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"For me representing such a diverse side of St. Paul, which is the east side of St. Paul, you know that the community I represent is directly impacted by these, by this harmful, targeting by some tobacco industries."
The proposal that will be set forth today will raise the price for tobacco products and reduce the number of licensed tobacco shops and licensed tobacco sellers in the city. Whereas the current limit for licensed tobacco sellers is 200, the proposal would reduce that to 150. In addition, the number of tobacco shops would be capped at 25.
Yang said that the reasoning behind reducing the number of shops is to help space out locations so that communities are not highly concentrated tobacco shops. She noted that studies show those communities are more prone to smoking, especially with younger people, people of color, and working-class people.
Now Yang has her eyes set on taking back the community and ensuring that tobacco industries are not taking advantage of the people she represents.
"This is such a great way to actually take back our community, put it into the hands of our people and provide them the service and the products that actually meet their needs and are actually safe and...are not harmful to their health," Yang said.
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When it comes to those who disagree with the change, Yang has one question.
"My question to them is whether they are the ones actually going and talking to young people who have started smoking at a really young age who deserve to have opportunities that are actually positive to them that promote their health and well-being?" she asked. "Are they actually going and talking to the people who have addictions to this day that are hard for them to overcome and to the communities that have been hurt as a result of intentional targeting toward them and to start smoking at a really young age?
"The answer probably is not."
Yang shared that there is never a "right time" to do the right thing in the community; it just needs to be done to protect those who are hurting.
The first reading for the ordinance will be today, and the public hearing for it will be held on Oct. 20, Yang said. After the public hearing, the final vote will be held on Oct. 27. The proposal is expected to pass as it is heavily supported by all seven city council members and the St. Paul Mayor, all supporting what it would do.
