Local view: Ordinance would curb marketing of death, disease

This proposed ordinance reinforces the commitment from the city in its governing principles that are part of the comprehensive plan.

"Supporting health and well-being is a priority," the plan reads. "The City will actively promote access for all to health resources, quality food, recreation, social and economic opportunities, and a clean and secure environment. Investments and policies will advance and maximize health and health equity in the city."

Tobacco remains the number-one cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S. and Minnesota; and tobacco is, no doubt, a key factor in health disparities.

The tobacco industry uses menthol, candy- and fruit-flavored tobacco products to attract the next generation of smokers and to keep them hooked. The industry's targets are young people, African Americans, and LGBTQ communities. Menthol cigarette use among Minnesota high school smokers has more than doubled since 2000, from 20 percent to 44 percent. Tobacco use is the top cause of preventable death and disease among African Americans; and, because of decades of profiling by the tobacco industry, it is no accident that over 80 percent of African-American smokers are menthol smokers — along with 71 percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) young-adult smokers.

The tobacco industry is aggressively fighting this ordinance proposal in Duluth and has used the phrase, "you should be furious," in some of its literature.

I agree. You should be furious that the tobacco industry continues to market its deadly products to our youth and some of our most vulnerable populations.

You should be furious that in Minnesota alone, tobacco companies spend more than $115 million annually on advertising and marketing, much of it targeted to young people. As a result, tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable disease and death. According to a report by Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota, tobacco use is responsible for the deaths of 6,312 Minnesotans each year; and the annual cost of smoking in Minnesota is estimated to be over $7 billion, including $3.19 billion in excess health care costs and $4.3 billion in lost productivity.

You should be furious that we all pay the price in the form of health care costs, estimated at $593 for every person in the state.

You should be furious that we continue to lose loved ones to lung cancer, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and the list goes on and on due to smoking.

It's time to take action to limit access to menthol and other flavored tobacco products in Duluth. Let's change the way the tobacco industry markets death and disease in our community.

Pat McKone of Duluth is regional senior director for the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest.