Transcripts For SFGTV Government Access Programming 20240714

Im danger jememiah mock, and im a professor at San Francisco state university. We have a crisis the likes of which weve never seen. We have young people being exposed and using nicotine in a form thats never really been tested and at concentrations that young people cannot absorb. Weve conducted a study at 12 bay area high schools. These are the slides i wanted to show you looking at documenting the Environment Impact of ecigarette products. They contain metals, litheum ion batteries, and from what i understand from jool. Take a look at this. Last year, they say they manufactured 20 million pods p in 2017, they say they manufactured 20 million pods a month. And in 2018, they manufactured 40 million pods a year. Thats a half a billion pods a year. And i have bags and bags and bags of pods that weve collected. And i want to point out its not just jool pods. We know these are products that eventually entices young people to switch over to smoking cigarettes. I want to encourage you that young people need your protection, and San Francisco needs your protection from the dangers that come from these products. Supervisor mandelman professor, if i may ask you, one of the arguments fagain ths ban is ecigarettes are doing less damage to a persons body than traditional cigarettes, and i was wondering if you could share your thoughts on that argument. Right. So if youre probably aware, theres a very visceral, vociferous debate going on from people who have worked in tobacco for many years about the dangers of these products. The fact is there are no trials that indicate these are safe or efficacious for use. So essentially, the f. D. A. Reneged on its deal. One of the reasons is that the emerging Scientific Research is that theyre more harmful than originally reported. The Harm Reduction was based on a premise unsupported by science. That premise was any nicotine deliverable device that was not a cigarette must be safer than a cigarette. But theres not been any study to prove that presumption, and what weve seen are studies showing that people are higher risk for Heart Disease, lung disease. Now were finding flavors that are carcinogenic in the product. We have products to help people quit smoking, and california has been more successful than just about anyplace in the United States in helping people quit smoking over time, and thats borne out by 30 years of helping people quit smoking rates. I live in marin county, and we have some of the lowest smoking rates among teens in the country. We have seen a rise in recent years of ecigarette devices. Selfreporting ranges are in the range of 28 to 30 for 8th graders. Thats 0 to 30 in three years. So whatever cost it is that makes people move from regular cigarettes, theres a enormous Public Health cost. For every adult who quits smoking cigarettes, there are 80 youth that go on to smoke ecigarettes, so the cost dramatically outweighs whatever benefits there might be. Supervisor mandelman thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hi. My name is patty, and i work for the american heart association. Im here to support restricting the sale of vaping devices . We have a report like what the doctor just shared . I know firsthand the impact nicotine has on San Franciscos youth through our use with San Francisco Unified School District . I hear every day the pressures that students face for vaping, and teachers have no idea that students are vaping in their classrooms. Teenage is the perfect age for nicotine addiction, and jool and the industry know this. Please protect the Public Health with this policy and San Francisco kids. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. My name is nick, and i work on the Community Impact team for the american heart association. Simply put, my mission is to help youth live longer, healthier lives, make better decisions. The time i spend with youth in this city, really, anywhere, it shows me how impressionable they are. I know how impressionable i was. Im sure you can remember how impressionable you were in Elementary School and high school. In relation to this, i find it interesting how there is never really a push in the marketing of currently f. D. A. Approved Smoking Cessation devices toward youth. We dont see those widely used in schools. Kids arent hitting up a patch in the bathroom, theyre hitting up a jool and their favorite vaping devices. Its well known that the drug nicotine combined with a whole host of other chemicals in this case does not help anyone lead a longer, healthier life. While San Francisco cant fix all of the issues at any given moment that it sees, the city can keep being a leader in progressive policy that benefits the public and works to improve the health of its citizens, specifically its youth. Please continue admonition tmo forward. [names read] good morning, supervisors. My name is ronald shea, and i was t was and i am the manager of happy vape in supervisor yees district. I represent a group of more than 500 patrons, community members, and relatives. We are against the ban as we originally came to the Supervisors Office with a land use issue. Getting our vape shop to open up was originally getting a license. So turning to health issue, we which we had to revisit as a land use issue, and finally turned to getting our tobacco and paraphernalia shop marketing license. And we have been regulated in this industry from that point onwards. You guys initially approved us, and now all of a sudden theres this ban that its going to proposed thats basically going to remove us from business. If this does pass, is there any compensation to the businesses themselves, especially shops like us who are dedicated vape shops who only sell Vape Products . The most is that most of my customers are not being educated before they enter a vape shop. Smoking is legal, smoking marijuana is legal, but vaping is demonized and now facing a ban. Were allowed flafrd alcohol which most children would start drinking is and is sold within stores and reached within grocery stores, however, vaping is used as marketing to children. Should we also be banning bars and mixed drinks [inaudible] my name is christine chessen, and im a San Francisco mom of three in supervisor stefanis district. Im part of a Grassroots Movement of parents across the country working to halt the explosion of nonf. D. A. Approved ecigarettes such as jool that are creating a brandnew generation of nicotine and tobacco users. My own son is now being treated for nicotine thanks to jools and aggressive predatory campaign to grow a new clientele for its business. Big tobacco has snuck back in to the addiction business through the tech side door by luring teens and young people down this path. Jool has refused to submit their ingredient lists with the f. D. A. How many young people are they addicting . A recent study just cited by ucsf found for every one adult that makes the switch from spoking to ecigarettes, 80 young people a day will start start using ecigarettes. This isnt just bad for any son, this is bad for an entire generation, and we should not be willing to pay this price. Thank you. Clerk next speaker, please. Hello. My name is vanessa, and im a Current College student at mills college. Ive never smoked a cigarette in my life but known people that have. When ecigarettes were first announced, the whole idea of e. Cigarettes became a trend. Curious as to what it would be like, i took my first puff in high school. I had no idea how a little puff, followed by a little dose of nicotine. As weeks and months went by, i noticed how addictive they had become. If someone warned me how addictive ecigarettes would be, i never would have taken my first puff. Many College Students think of vaping as something fun to do with friends, not as a product with health risks . The prevalence of vaping has grown with peers and people would go out of their way to sell them . This has to do with how Big Tobacco Companies market the product which has created new addicts for their customer base. Nicotine harms the brains of youth . Nicotine unlocked special reseptors, molecules in the brain, and signaling molecules like dopamine helping users to reach the special high under developed brains can develop more of these reseptors . As more reseptors develop, the more nicotine people will need to reach that high. Thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon, speakers. I am carlos, and i am the c. E. O. Of the Hispanic Chamber of commerce in San Francisco. Thank you for letting me tell you why we oppose this ban. We are representing over 900 businesses over here. We are not just the mission district, we are the entire city of San Francisco. We are here because the Small Business commission offered we need more time to find a specific alternatives for Small Business. Every talk about the Health Issues. The Health Issues are a concern to us. I have six kids, none of them smoke because we strongly believe that education starts at home. Education starts with your family. Not only that education starts with your family, but it also needs to continue to have programs by education, but that doesnt mean doing it by punishing Small Businesses. Were losing Small Businesses. Today, yesterday, i was here in city hall. I went to visit three of my businesses, theyre already closed. Were losing Small Businesses. Its not just an issue of health, its an issue of Small Businesses. This, we have the right to have Small Businesses to sell it. This is the life and the survival of Small Businesses. So we, the Hispanic Chamber of commerces of San Francisco that support a Small Business finding that put alternatives to the Small Business, and in the meantime, as soon as it is legal, please allow them to do the sale. We need to survive the Small Businesses in San Francisco. We are going to lose it, and if you dont do something about it, were going to continue to lose it. I know that supervisor walton says he doesnt care about the business clerk thank you. Next speaker, please. Before we continue on, id like to through the chair and honored guests, remind the public of rule number 3, that we will not hear any booing or chattering or thumbs up. If you dont approve of what the speaker is saying, a thumbs down. Thank you. Yes, my name is roland chen, and im with the vapor smoke shop in Downtown District 6. This vape ban will end my business existence in s. F. , leading up to empty stores and on the hook for a longterm lease agreement. My business is 100 Vape Products, evtherefore, im goi to be 100 out of business. Personally, i was an occasionally smoker, but when i found vaping, i have been healthier since and havent had a cigarette in almost six years. Our store doesnt only provide smoking reduction products, we provide education on what product to give. I. D. Checking has been a directive number one in our store since our inception back in 2013 when legal age was raised to 21. Nothing has changed for verification processes. Our store has a clean record for almost five years. If this ban is approved, the front line age verification will be demolished. Its almost a guarantee that a black market will arise, and therefore, the age verification will be gone. Youre going to have more students, more underage getting nothing this process without any front line verification at the retail front. Im not here to say that vaping is 100 safe, but when compared to a traditional combustible cigarette, its exceptionally better, and isnt Harm Reduction a focus in San Francisco . With needle exchanges, and Harm Reduction facilities, why is San Francisco being critical of Vape Products . Clerk next office and determine an impact that this ban would have on both city revenue and industry. In the report referenced in the legislation, the Youth Risk Behavior survey, it was noted that less than 7 of current San Francisco High Schoolers are using electronic cigarettes. 30 of them verified they got it from a store, which they did not verify if that store was located in San Francisco. Less than 1 of San Francisco students are accessing these products in stores, which were not confirmed in San Francisco. We are in support of the legislative intent of this as it relates to consumption, abating youth consumption, we do not feel this legislation will have the intended effect of reducing youth access as it is not addressing the [inaudible] clerk next speaker, please. Hello. My name is stephen, and i smoked for over 50 years. And i tried the other patches, i smoked over the patch. But since i switched over to ecigarettes, specifically jool, my lungs cleared up. I dont have phlegm anymore. I can breathe better. My health is a lot better. Im going to be 69 this year, so im very blessed that cigarette smoking didnt kill me, but i think this city is a little hypocritical here with the nonf. D. A. Approval. The whole state just approved marijuana, and thats definitely not f. D. A. Approved. I dont know, just like i dont know if you can really use this as an excuse, okay . But i understand why because we, this p. C. , okay . Politically correct, and thats all ive got to say. Thank you very much. Clerk next speaker, please. Hey, thats what i was going to say. Supervisors, my name is will. Im here with the coalition for reasonable vaping regulation. I was a smoker for ten years, and quit for a while with the gum, and then had some trouble last year. To kill the nerves, i started smoking again, but i didnt want to go down that road again. So i learned about vaping, which is an elegant solution. Its much like smoking, but i didnt have the same kind of health effects. Im a valet. I run for a living, and once i switched to vaping in very short order, well, i could keep up with the rest of the guys and, you know, i have a resting heart rate of 54 beats per minute, oh, thats right. So i find it a healthful, useful tool for going from combustible cigarettes for adults. The ban would make that impossible its not only stores where the ban is taking place. It would ban online sales, which is the bulk of the source of getting my jool pods in this case, and thats just too far reaching in my opinion for getting me away from something that was harmful and towards something that is helpful, and im im against the ban for those reasons. Thank you. [names read] my name is imad, and i am Business Owner in San Francisco since 1993. What im going to say is about oh, my god, i forgot. All right. About the banning. What im trying to do is give you example about banning the cigarette. First of all, i have kids, and i dont want my kids to die from smoking or i dont want my business to survive on the backs of my kids. But when you ban the flavored cigarettes and the menthol cigarettes, what its created, its created the black market. When you ban the ecigarettes, a truck starts coming from nevada full of flavored cigarettes and menthol cigarettes. I ask my kids, how do friends get all these pods for the cigarettes. They tell me they are not getting it from a local store. Everything, they are getting it from online. They can get fake i. D. , they can get access from alibaba. He has all kinds of cigarettes, all kind of ejuice. Actually as Business Owners, we are responsible. We are setting the standard for selling to minors, so we are always responsible and we always check i. D. Thank you. Clerk thank you, next speaker, please. Supervisors walton, stefani, and mandelman, im standing here to oppose this ban and im calling you to educate. As the president of the dr. Martin luther king foundation, dr. King smoked. He was a smoker, and i think what is needed is more education. We cant just sit it in the lap of families, we have to involve communitybased organizations. We have to engage our board of education. My son goes to school. Hes learning about puberty in school, junior high. Are kids learning about smoking in school . I think we have to think creative and not take away peoples choices. A lot of people have the opportunity to choose what theyll do. I call for you all to create regulations for this particular item. Thank you. Thats a hard act to follow. Berman, executive director of the American Petroleum and Convenience Store organization. We represent a number of Convenience Stores here in San Francisco. We support the attributes of what the proponents are trying to do, in terms of keeping San Francisco<\/a> state university. We have a crisis the likes of which weve never seen. We have young people being exposed and using nicotine in a form thats never really been tested and at concentrations that young people cannot absorb. Weve conducted a study at 12 bay area high schools. These are the slides i wanted to show you looking at documenting the Environment Impact<\/a> of ecigarette products. They contain metals, litheum ion batteries, and from what i understand from jool. Take a look at this. Last year, they say they manufactured 20 million pods p in 2017, they say they manufactured 20 million pods a month. And in 2018, they manufactured 40 million pods a year. Thats a half a billion pods a year. And i have bags and bags and bags of pods that weve collected. And i want to point out its not just jool pods. We know these are products that eventually entices young people to switch over to smoking cigarettes. I want to encourage you that young people need your protection, and San Francisco<\/a> needs your protection from the dangers that come from these products. Supervisor mandelman professor, if i may ask you, one of the arguments fagain ths ban is ecigarettes are doing less damage to a persons body than traditional cigarettes, and i was wondering if you could share your thoughts on that argument. Right. So if youre probably aware, theres a very visceral, vociferous debate going on from people who have worked in tobacco for many years about the dangers of these products. The fact is there are no trials that indicate these are safe or efficacious for use. So essentially, the f. D. A. Reneged on its deal. One of the reasons is that the emerging Scientific Research<\/a> is that theyre more harmful than originally reported. The Harm Reduction<\/a> was based on a premise unsupported by science. That premise was any nicotine deliverable device that was not a cigarette must be safer than a cigarette. But theres not been any study to prove that presumption, and what weve seen are studies showing that people are higher risk for Heart Disease<\/a>, lung disease. Now were finding flavors that are carcinogenic in the product. We have products to help people quit smoking, and california has been more successful than just about anyplace in the United States<\/a> in helping people quit smoking over time, and thats borne out by 30 years of helping people quit smoking rates. I live in marin county, and we have some of the lowest smoking rates among teens in the country. We have seen a rise in recent years of ecigarette devices. Selfreporting ranges are in the range of 28 to 30 for 8th graders. Thats 0 to 30 in three years. So whatever cost it is that makes people move from regular cigarettes, theres a enormous Public Health<\/a> cost. For every adult who quits smoking cigarettes, there are 80 youth that go on to smoke ecigarettes, so the cost dramatically outweighs whatever benefits there might be. Supervisor mandelman thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hi. My name is patty, and i work for the american heart association. Im here to support restricting the sale of vaping devices . We have a report like what the doctor just shared . I know firsthand the impact nicotine has on San Francisco<\/a>s youth through our use with San Francisco<\/a> Unified School District<\/a> . I hear every day the pressures that students face for vaping, and teachers have no idea that students are vaping in their classrooms. Teenage is the perfect age for nicotine addiction, and jool and the industry know this. Please protect the Public Health<\/a> with this policy and San Francisco<\/a> kids. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. My name is nick, and i work on the Community Impact<\/a> team for the american heart association. Simply put, my mission is to help youth live longer, healthier lives, make better decisions. The time i spend with youth in this city, really, anywhere, it shows me how impressionable they are. I know how impressionable i was. Im sure you can remember how impressionable you were in Elementary School<\/a> and high school. In relation to this, i find it interesting how there is never really a push in the marketing of currently f. D. A. Approved Smoking Cessation<\/a> devices toward youth. We dont see those widely used in schools. Kids arent hitting up a patch in the bathroom, theyre hitting up a jool and their favorite vaping devices. Its well known that the drug nicotine combined with a whole host of other chemicals in this case does not help anyone lead a longer, healthier life. While San Francisco<\/a> cant fix all of the issues at any given moment that it sees, the city can keep being a leader in progressive policy that benefits the public and works to improve the health of its citizens, specifically its youth. Please continue admonition tmo forward. [names read] good morning, supervisors. My name is ronald shea, and i was t was and i am the manager of happy vape in supervisor yees district. I represent a group of more than 500 patrons, community members, and relatives. We are against the ban as we originally came to the Supervisors Office<\/a> with a land use issue. Getting our vape shop to open up was originally getting a license. So turning to health issue, we which we had to revisit as a land use issue, and finally turned to getting our tobacco and paraphernalia shop marketing license. And we have been regulated in this industry from that point onwards. You guys initially approved us, and now all of a sudden theres this ban that its going to proposed thats basically going to remove us from business. If this does pass, is there any compensation to the businesses themselves, especially shops like us who are dedicated vape shops who only sell Vape Products<\/a> . The most is that most of my customers are not being educated before they enter a vape shop. Smoking is legal, smoking marijuana is legal, but vaping is demonized and now facing a ban. Were allowed flafrd alcohol which most children would start drinking is and is sold within stores and reached within grocery stores, however, vaping is used as marketing to children. Should we also be banning bars and mixed drinks [inaudible] my name is christine chessen, and im a San Francisco<\/a> mom of three in supervisor stefanis district. Im part of a Grassroots Movement<\/a> of parents across the country working to halt the explosion of nonf. D. A. Approved ecigarettes such as jool that are creating a brandnew generation of nicotine and tobacco users. My own son is now being treated for nicotine thanks to jools and aggressive predatory campaign to grow a new clientele for its business. Big tobacco has snuck back in to the addiction business through the tech side door by luring teens and young people down this path. Jool has refused to submit their ingredient lists with the f. D. A. How many young people are they addicting . A recent study just cited by ucsf found for every one adult that makes the switch from spoking to ecigarettes, 80 young people a day will start start using ecigarettes. This isnt just bad for any son, this is bad for an entire generation, and we should not be willing to pay this price. Thank you. Clerk next speaker, please. Hello. My name is vanessa, and im a Current College<\/a> student at mills college. Ive never smoked a cigarette in my life but known people that have. When ecigarettes were first announced, the whole idea of e. Cigarettes became a trend. Curious as to what it would be like, i took my first puff in high school. I had no idea how a little puff, followed by a little dose of nicotine. As weeks and months went by, i noticed how addictive they had become. If someone warned me how addictive ecigarettes would be, i never would have taken my first puff. Many College Students<\/a> think of vaping as something fun to do with friends, not as a product with health risks . The prevalence of vaping has grown with peers and people would go out of their way to sell them . This has to do with how Big Tobacco Companies<\/a> market the product which has created new addicts for their customer base. Nicotine harms the brains of youth . Nicotine unlocked special reseptors, molecules in the brain, and signaling molecules like dopamine helping users to reach the special high under developed brains can develop more of these reseptors . As more reseptors develop, the more nicotine people will need to reach that high. Thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon, speakers. I am carlos, and i am the c. E. O. Of the Hispanic Chamber<\/a> of commerce in San Francisco<\/a>. Thank you for letting me tell you why we oppose this ban. We are representing over 900 businesses over here. We are not just the mission district, we are the entire city of San Francisco<\/a>. We are here because the Small Business<\/a> commission offered we need more time to find a specific alternatives for Small Business<\/a>. Every talk about the Health Issues<\/a>. The Health Issues<\/a> are a concern to us. I have six kids, none of them smoke because we strongly believe that education starts at home. Education starts with your family. Not only that education starts with your family, but it also needs to continue to have programs by education, but that doesnt mean doing it by punishing Small Business<\/a>es. Were losing Small Business<\/a>es. Today, yesterday, i was here in city hall. I went to visit three of my businesses, theyre already closed. Were losing Small Business<\/a>es. Its not just an issue of health, its an issue of Small Business<\/a>es. This, we have the right to have Small Business<\/a>es to sell it. This is the life and the survival of Small Business<\/a>es. So we, the Hispanic Chamber<\/a> of commerces of San Francisco<\/a> that support a Small Business<\/a> finding that put alternatives to the Small Business<\/a>, and in the meantime, as soon as it is legal, please allow them to do the sale. We need to survive the Small Business<\/a>es in San Francisco<\/a>. We are going to lose it, and if you dont do something about it, were going to continue to lose it. I know that supervisor walton says he doesnt care about the business clerk thank you. Next speaker, please. Before we continue on, id like to through the chair and honored guests, remind the public of rule number 3, that we will not hear any booing or chattering or thumbs up. If you dont approve of what the speaker is saying, a thumbs down. Thank you. Yes, my name is roland chen, and im with the vapor smoke shop in Downtown District<\/a> 6. This vape ban will end my business existence in s. F. , leading up to empty stores and on the hook for a longterm lease agreement. My business is 100 Vape Products<\/a>, evtherefore, im goi to be 100 out of business. Personally, i was an occasionally smoker, but when i found vaping, i have been healthier since and havent had a cigarette in almost six years. Our store doesnt only provide smoking reduction products, we provide education on what product to give. I. D. Checking has been a directive number one in our store since our inception back in 2013 when legal age was raised to 21. Nothing has changed for verification processes. Our store has a clean record for almost five years. If this ban is approved, the front line age verification will be demolished. Its almost a guarantee that a black market will arise, and therefore, the age verification will be gone. Youre going to have more students, more underage getting nothing this process without any front line verification at the retail front. Im not here to say that vaping is 100 safe, but when compared to a traditional combustible cigarette, its exceptionally better, and isnt Harm Reduction<\/a> a focus in San Francisco<\/a> . With needle exchanges, and Harm Reduction<\/a> facilities, why is San Francisco<\/a> being critical of Vape Products<\/a> . Clerk next office and determine an impact that this ban would have on both city revenue and industry. In the report referenced in the legislation, the Youth Risk Behavior<\/a> survey, it was noted that less than 7 of current San Francisco<\/a> High Schoolers<\/a> are using electronic cigarettes. 30 of them verified they got it from a store, which they did not verify if that store was located in San Francisco<\/a>. Less than 1 of San Francisco<\/a> students are accessing these products in stores, which were not confirmed in San Francisco<\/a>. We are in support of the legislative intent of this as it relates to consumption, abating youth consumption, we do not feel this legislation will have the intended effect of reducing youth access as it is not addressing the [inaudible] clerk next speaker, please. Hello. My name is stephen, and i smoked for over 50 years. And i tried the other patches, i smoked over the patch. But since i switched over to ecigarettes, specifically jool, my lungs cleared up. I dont have phlegm anymore. I can breathe better. My health is a lot better. Im going to be 69 this year, so im very blessed that cigarette smoking didnt kill me, but i think this city is a little hypocritical here with the nonf. D. A. Approval. The whole state just approved marijuana, and thats definitely not f. D. A. Approved. I dont know, just like i dont know if you can really use this as an excuse, okay . But i understand why because we, this p. C. , okay . Politically correct, and thats all ive got to say. Thank you very much. Clerk next speaker, please. Hey, thats what i was going to say. Supervisors, my name is will. Im here with the coalition for reasonable vaping regulation. I was a smoker for ten years, and quit for a while with the gum, and then had some trouble last year. To kill the nerves, i started smoking again, but i didnt want to go down that road again. So i learned about vaping, which is an elegant solution. Its much like smoking, but i didnt have the same kind of health effects. Im a valet. I run for a living, and once i switched to vaping in very short order, well, i could keep up with the rest of the guys and, you know, i have a resting heart rate of 54 beats per minute, oh, thats right. So i find it a healthful, useful tool for going from combustible cigarettes for adults. The ban would make that impossible its not only stores where the ban is taking place. It would ban online sales, which is the bulk of the source of getting my jool pods in this case, and thats just too far reaching in my opinion for getting me away from something that was harmful and towards something that is helpful, and im im against the ban for those reasons. Thank you. [names read] my name is imad, and i am Business Owner<\/a> in San Francisco<\/a> since 1993. What im going to say is about oh, my god, i forgot. All right. About the banning. What im trying to do is give you example about banning the cigarette. First of all, i have kids, and i dont want my kids to die from smoking or i dont want my business to survive on the backs of my kids. But when you ban the flavored cigarettes and the menthol cigarettes, what its created, its created the black market. When you ban the ecigarettes, a truck starts coming from nevada full of flavored cigarettes and menthol cigarettes. I ask my kids, how do friends get all these pods for the cigarettes. They tell me they are not getting it from a local store. Everything, they are getting it from online. They can get fake i. D. , they can get access from alibaba. He has all kinds of cigarettes, all kind of ejuice. Actually as Business Owner<\/a>s, we are responsible. We are setting the standard for selling to minors, so we are always responsible and we always check i. D. Thank you. Clerk thank you, next speaker, please. Supervisors walton, stefani, and mandelman, im standing here to oppose this ban and im calling you to educate. As the president of the dr. Martin luther king foundation, dr. King smoked. He was a smoker, and i think what is needed is more education. We cant just sit it in the lap of families, we have to involve communitybased organizations. We have to engage our board of education. My son goes to school. Hes learning about puberty in school, junior high. Are kids learning about smoking in school . I think we have to think creative and not take away peoples choices. A lot of people have the opportunity to choose what theyll do. I call for you all to create regulations for this particular item. Thank you. Thats a hard act to follow. Berman, executive director of the American Petroleum<\/a> and Convenience Store<\/a> organization. We represent a number of Convenience Store<\/a>s here in San Francisco<\/a>. We support the attributes of what the proponents are trying to do, in terms of keeping Tobacco Products<\/a> outside people under the age of 21. However, our methods are a little different. As the gentleman previous to me said, its about regulation. We should have more enforceable regulations. We as retailers are on the front lines of age verification. We dont want to jeopardize our businesses for selling tobacco to anyone under 21. We want to be sitting at the table with policy makers to try and carve sustainable, realistic approaches to try to deal with this Public Policy<\/a> dates. Ill give you two dates. 1920 to 1933. What happened between those two dates . Prohibition. Alcohol was banned. What happened during that . A lot of people enriched themselves. The black market. A lot of people died because of bathtub gins and a lot of things in america. This will create an illicit black market for these items in america. Im willing to sit at the table with the American Lung<\/a> association, members of the city council and work to carve something out. Thats all. Lets work together. Hello. My name is kevin. Im a local businessman, northern california. Doctor just answered a question that one of the speakers asked, do we have a study if the ecigarette is less harmful than the regular cigarette. I would request the doctors, the American Association<\/a> and our local policy makers, why not ask the question to the horses mouth . Ask the smokers how they feel . Ask the vapors how they feel . Have their life changed . Instead of making decisions ourselves just because it looks good, think about the freedom. When someone is over 21 is buying a legal product. The f. D. A. , if jool was so bad, they would not have allowed it. If you ask the smokers and the vapors, youll get the right answer. I cant ask a truck driver to drive a plane. I definitely dont want to crash. Thank you. Good afternoon, committee members. My name is stephen and im with t. H. R. Policy. Even though the citys density of minors is far below the national average, the percentage of retailers is extremely high. This policy will not accomplish its goals. We encourage the city to have the conversations with retailers to work to form solutions. [inaudible] it says to former smokers who use vapor products that the city prefers they start buying cigarettes again. I cant think the city desires to see the creation of another illicit markets, though i guess deadly sales of combustible cigarettes would further the prohibition fee. Policies to drive sales of deadly combustible products should not be the driver of this. Were told its because of the health risks, yet open sewers are not a health risk . This policy is telling us that the citys priority is selling traditional items. I find it difficult to believe that residents of this once amazing city would agree to policy that would alienate tourism, destroy policy and also lead to premature death of many of your residents. I encourage you to relook at some of these policies and take a look at where some of these policies belong, a trash can. Clerk thank you, next speaker, please. Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is jaime, and im with the association of retail outlets. We strongly oppose this proposed ordinance. We oppose this proposal for the following reasons. It would effectively ban almost all vape Harm Reduction<\/a> products in San Francisco<\/a> county, exacerbate the Financial Impact<\/a> of local retailers, likely harm rather than benefit Public Health<\/a> and do little or nothing to affect youth. It would only promote illicit sales to those under 21 in the city of San Francisco<\/a>. This proposal will not affect any sales to minor, and it will only inconvenience adults over 21 by causing them to Purchase Online<\/a> outside of San Francisco<\/a> or create an illicit market created by this proposed ban. National studies by the f. D. A. Show that and not from traditional retailers that train employees to follow the law. Enacting this proposal will promote illegal illicit markets for these products. Perhaps we should ask ourselves who would be more likely to check i. D. S of a young people . A business with 16 locations in the city or something selling products out of a truck or the back of a car. This proposal rejects Harm Reduction<\/a> and is contrary to the citys reduction of Health Issues<\/a>. In closing, we ask you to not appro approve proposal as is. Thank you for your consideration. Clerk next speaker, please. My name is [inaudible] i would like to oppose ban o of support ban of ecigarette. The risk of ecigarette and combustible cigarette are similar. Thats why we cannot recommend the ecigarette for Harm Reduction<\/a> and cessation devices. So we just published scientific advanced student report. Basically, it is associated with Heart Disease<\/a> among all americans, so i want to submit this evidence for the record. Thank you. Supervisor walton thank you. Dennis kelly, rashan murray, judy smith, ben minore, ronald shucart, chris rice, and tony alan. Im dave fagan, California Association<\/a> of district merchants, past president of the business commission. There are many retailers that wanted to be here today, but theyre busy working, trying to keep their business open. I and all of them oppose this ban. Bans like this hurt Small Business<\/a>es and have no indication they do actually curb youth access. In fact, the California Department<\/a> of Public Health<\/a> says that the Small Business<\/a>es have the best rate of success in preventing youth access. Small businesses are the answers to this problem, not the problem itself. At the end of the day, were all working for the same goal of preventing youth access. However, this ban does affect our neighborhoods, which are struggling with vacant storefronts, and having vacant storefronts, you know, will affect the quality of life for the residents in your neighborhoods. When you do have a struggling business, the best way to turn that struggling business around is to try to increase your revenues and decrease your expenses. If you can do both of them at once, youre able to turn it around. However in San Francisco<\/a>, we have a challenge in that were setup for failure. City government continues to focus on taxes, mandates, fees, and regulations that decrease our revenues and increase our expenses. My question to everyone on the board of supervisors is which proposal, tax, mandate, fee, or regulation will be the next to close a business in your neighborhood and create a vacant storefront . Thank you. Clerk next speaker, please. Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is bob gordon, and im cochair of the San Francisco<\/a> tobacco free coalition. Supervisors, how can we not be inspired by San Francisco<\/a> icon henny kelly speaking out. At the hearing the jool convention here in town, she asked, which convention should i go to . Its estimated by the journal of American Medical Association<\/a> pediatrics that just came out last week that nearly 90 of 1y ool jools social media followers are under 21. Please, parents, friends, neighbors, lets take this logical next step. Thank you. [inaudible] they are the number one predator of our people. We want to applaud you, shaman, supervisor shaman, because youre taking strong leadership. We know that jool has been taking the whole country, trying to use our African American<\/a> people across the country because of their marketing to our children. When we talk about Harm Reduction<\/a>, i was here in San Francisco<\/a> when we fought for needle exchange. Needle exchange was not about sprinkling needles all over the city for anybody who might want to become an i. V. Drug user, as what jool is doing all over the city. We werent encouraging people to become i. V. Drug users with aids in the day. We know that this product kills people, so whats the measurement of whats the measurement of how that compares to combustible cigarettes . If jool kills one out of 10 and cigarettes kill 4 out of 10, does that mean we want it in our measure . The California Department<\/a> of Public Health<\/a> is investing in our public population. Theres revenues coming down because of the tobacco tax. This will be accompanied by more cessations for people, so this is part of our supervisor walton stop the war on drugs, amos elberg. Rudy acersion, rudy perez, lorne dike, wyatt, jessica baker. Next speaker. Good afternoon, members of the board. My name is ben minore, and im a member of the Filipino Chamber<\/a> of commerce. I had a wonderful speaker and then it dawned on me what happened in the 80s and the 70s. Im an educator, and i was a gang specialist for the state of california. I also worked with your police department, what i realized is that were going to be dealing with a commodity that could become your modern day contraband. I dont want the children to have access to it, but if you dont regulate it the way others have said it, then we will have more than just a health issue. We will have a crime issue, so i said to the officers and leaders in the 80s, get your head out of the sand because the horse is out of the barn, and if we dont take control of this as parents and educate our parents to become parents, as frontline educators to protect children from abusing themselves, we wont be able to do it. So i hope you dont put this as a bandaid to serving the children of our community. Thank you for your time. Supervisor walton next speaker, please. Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is antonio lau. I remember the Hispanic Chamber<\/a>s of commerce in San Francisco<\/a>. We are a coalition of five chambers. My organization opposed to this ban because of two major reasons. Number one, the ban will not solve the problem of health to our youth. Second, it will create a bigger problem. Number one, i believe good, Healthy Habits<\/a> starts at home and starts with a good education policy in our schools and at home. All we are doing with this ban is to push this Tobacco Products<\/a> into the black market, and allow organized crime to make a profit out of this and increase online sales. The youth will still be at risk if we push these products into the black market. And number two, were going to have a huge Economic Impact<\/a> to our members. Our economys based on the Small Business<\/a>es. Most of us are family owned, minority businesses, that they depend on the sales of these legal products, so please, think about what Economic Impact<\/a> it will have on all these minority families before you make a decision. And how are you going to compensate for their Economic Loss<\/a> . Because a lot of our jobs are going to be lost if this ban goes through. Thank you. My names chris rice. Im a resident of soma, a resident of San Francisco<\/a>. Im a jool employee, and i just decided to share with you the story of why i decided to work at jool. I was happy at my job and had a negative opinion as many of you do. As i learned more about the company and more about the mission to eliminate combustible cigarettes, i started to think about my own life. The very first memory i hearkened back to was the death of my grandfather from lung disease. If we think back, we probably have lost all of our aunts and uncles, especially in the south, where smoking is prevalent, to combustible cigarettes. So i feel very fortunate to be a part of an organization that provides satisfying alternatives to people that can actually make the switch. Youve heard from some of those people here today. So i just wanted to speak to that and bring a face to who were talking about. Oftentimes, we otherize and stigmatize these issues. Id encourage you to look at other nations, other councils that have actually embraced Harm Reduction<\/a>, especially around Vape Products<\/a> and do a little bit of research, and i think youll find some very promising things for our future. Thanks. Clerk next speaker, please. Hi. My names judy smith. I taught school in San Francisco<\/a> for 35 years. I started smoking when i was 25, two packs a day until i was 37. I stopped when i was pregnant. My mom died of lung cancer. I was diagnosed can breast with Breast Cancer<\/a> eight years ago. Even with the diagnosis, i couldnt stop smoking. I have used these products cutting down from not just using huge amounts of pods, but putting my own juice into my pens, and i intend to completely stop at one point. The long hall. Until i started vaping, i couldnt switch away from cigarettes and combustion. I havent touched one in almost six years. I have a daughter, i taught school, and the proposed policy ban is not a successful idea. Bans work in our heads. They dont work in reality. They provoke children to find better ways of getting around them. Forbidden fruit is always more exciting. Why are we leaving alcohol on the shelf . In my mind, alcohol shouldnt be there. If you hide things from kids, theyll find ways to get it. Parents should raise their kids to be educated, well educated, and they should also be well educated about vaping, Harm Reduction<\/a>, and the opioid epidemic. I just think curtailing my rights or other adults that are able to access legal products is an unfair action. Good afternoon again. My names starchild, outreach director for the Libertarian Party<\/a> of San Francisco<\/a>, outreach s. F. We know that addiction to nicotine can be harmful and dangerous, but i want to talk about an addiction that is more harmful and dangerous, and that is indicated by behavior of the board of supervisors. Its starting to look like the board is addicted to banning things. Fur, robots on the streets, flame retardant couches. These are all the Little Things<\/a> that are partially banned or de facto banned, like tiny houses, which in the midst of a housing crisis formula retail, thats a ban in many neighborhoods, disallowed. This is just a symptom of an even more fund gentleman tall and dangerous form of addiction in our community, which is the addiction to power. We know that theres a power addiction problem. Thats why we have term limits. Supervisors have limits on how many terms they can serve, otherwise, some of them would be in there forever. Power is very addictive, and id like to encourage supervisors, fight this addiction. Please stop banning things. Leave people alone to live their own lives as long as they are not initiating force or fraud against others. Our bodies belong to us. What you put into your bodies should be your choice. Members of the community, if you want to address this dangerous addiction to power, please help clerk thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is amos elberg. Im one of your constituents, and im here to speak against the banning of Online Vaping<\/a> products. I smoked for many years until i switched to jool products, which were effective in getting me not to stop using nicotine, but in using Tobacco Products<\/a>. From my own belief, i think that jool pods are less harmful than cigarettes, which is why i switched. Much of what youve heard today concerning Youth Activity<\/a> and vaping occurred prior to the ban that went into effect in january. Since then, it has become extraordinarily difficult to purchase vaping products in San Francisco<\/a>. Today, the only time that i would smoke a cigarette is when it gets to the end of the month when the mailorder from jool hasnt arrived because it is that hard to buy them here. If you ban those online sales, i will have to go back to cigarettes or move. Anybody, any child who has been obtaining those products via mailorder since january, its inconceivable to me that a parent could learn their child obtained that product through the mailorder since january and would be concerned about the nicotine other than the mail fraud and Identity Fraud<\/a> that would be involved in that purchase. Id like to address briefly the science. There is a lot of science back and forth. The f. D. A. Has chosen to take a waitandsee attitude. The u. K. Encourages them. I would respectfully submit that that scientific dispute is one that this committee is not in a position to resolve. Thank you. Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is rudy asercion, and im with the National Association<\/a> of filipino americans. I oppose this on behalf of my members of my association. My members told me since they started using ecigarettes and stopped using tobacco, their health is better, and they have a better outlook on life. Theyre afraid that taking away this choice from them will get them to start smoking tobacco again. So i encourage you to approach the legislation, and only because im a big proponent of freedom of choice. We give everybody a freedom of choice. Why are we going to restrict our residents of San Francisco<\/a> from that freedom of choice . Its the jurys still out whether ecigarette is harmful or more harmful or more helpful, but we have testimonies here that ecigarettes have been helping a lot of people who used to smoke, and their health is and theyre feeling better because their health is improved, so i urge you to reject this legislation. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, committee members. My name is nicolle, and im a resident of district 5 in San Francisco<\/a>, and im here to speak in opposition of the proposed ban of ecigarettes. Im proud to say ive been cigarette free for five years and was able to do so by crisping to nicotine vape switching to nicotine vaping products. As an adult over the age of 21, i should have access to these products and not not pub issue punished by my choice to use tobacco and not be forced to travel to other communities to obtain these products. If folks want it, they will find access through other channels that are not taxed and safety vetted. Please consider other bans here, and thank you for your consideration. Supervisor walton shawn patterson, jason erington, juan low, wilson chao, chow yu. Yu. Good afternoon, supervisors. Full disclosure, i am a jool labs employee. In 2003, my grandfather passed away from emphysema and copd. It was a years long process, and the only reason he stopped was because he couldnt breathe anymore. Years after my mother passed away, my mother confided to me that even on his death bed, he would have killed for a cigarette. In my function at jool labs, i interact with a lot of people in the labor in the trades field, electricians, plumbers, locksmiths, general contractors, painters. On their own accord and out of their own curiosity, they go and purchase a device legally because theyve been smoking for years, and then, they come, and they confide in me and tell me that they havent had a cigarette in days, weeks, mont months, and that they can finally breathe again, that they can finally taste food again, that their spouses and kids are proud of them, and that their clothes dont smell again. And all i can think of are that families wont have to go through what i went through. And i would appreciate if you can consider all of the different external circumstances that would happen if you were to put this ban in place. 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