Title
Resolution No. 18-43, Supporting the Clackamas County-wide Tobacco Retail License
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Approval of Resolution No. 18-43 in support of Clackamas County's county-wide Tobacco Retail License.
BACKGROUND:
In January 2018, the State of Oregon raised the minimum legal sales age for tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age. This law also amended the definition of "tobacco products" to include "a device that can be used to deliver tobacco", which includes but is not limited to: e-cigarettes, e-liquids (nicotine and non-nicotine liquid), hookah, vape pen, etc. Raising the sale age of tobacco products to 21 is part of a comprehensive strategy to prevent children and young adults from developing a lifelong addiction to nicotine. The Clackamas Board of County Commissioners is proposing a Tobacco Retail License (TRL) to support compliance with the minimum legal sales age, prevent youth from using nicotine, and address the leading cause of death in Clackamas County.
This TRL is a tool used to improve enforcement of federal, state, and local tobacco laws. It would require businesses located in the County to obtain a license to sell tobacco and nicotine products. It enables local jurisdictions to identify tobacco retailers, monitor their compliance with laws, and enforce penalties if tobacco is sold to people under the age of 21. Tobacco Retail Licensing will reduce youth access and initiation to tobacco and nicotine products, protecting them from a lifetime of addiction and tobacco-related disease by focusing tobacco regulation in the retail environment.
On November 7, 2018, Clackamas County Public Health Staff, Laurel Bentley Moses, Population Health Strategies Program Manager, and Jamie Zenter, Program Planner, presented "Protecting Youth Through Tobacco Retail Licensing" to the City Commission. The presentation discussed reducing youth initiation of tobacco use through a TRL and how vulnerable youth are to marketing strat...
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