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WHEREAS,tobacco use is the foremost preventable cause of premature death in the United States, <br /> responsible for approximately 480,000 deaths a year and 20.8 million premature deaths in the U.S. over <br /> the past 50 years since the first Surgeon General's report on smoking in 1964; <br /> WHEREAS, national data show that about 95 percent of adult smokers begin smoking before they turn <br /> 21, and that the ages of 18 to 21 are a critical period when many smokers move from experimental <br /> smoking to regular, daily use; <br /> WHEREAS,the developing brains of young people are particularly susceptible to the addictive properties <br /> of nicotine, and as a result, approximately 3 out of 4 teen smokers end up smoking into adulthood; <br /> WHEREAS, electronic smoking device use among minors has recently tripled; <br /> WHEREAS, a growing number of communities have enacted laws mandating a minimum legal sales age <br /> for tobacco products to 21, including forty local cities and counties in Minnesota; <br /> WHEREAS,three-quarters of U.S. adults favor raising the minimum legal sales age for tobacco products <br /> to 21, including seven in ten smokers; <br /> WHEREAS,the retail impact of ordinances mandating a minimum legal sales age of 21 for tobacco <br /> products is expected to be minimal in the first years of the policy because it works by reducing or <br /> delaying initiation of smoking, especially among younger populations; <br /> WHEREAS,Statewide,21.8%of 11th graders use tobacco, compared with 30.5%in Sherburne <br /> County. The use of e-cigarettes in Sherburne County is also higher than Minnesota;with 26.3%of 11`n <br /> graders indicating they've used a-cigs, compared to 17%statewide; <br /> BE IT RESOLVED, [Insert organization] recommends that Sherburne County raise the minimum legal <br /> sales age for tobacco products to 21. <br />