John Salyk Public Comment 3117/2026
Boca Raton Drive
212
1 Anerow's Drive ABBEY ROAD
XIXIX
5 LESS
ENTER
E
5 A' COURT
250 JA0a.
CLOUL
Public Comment
3/17/2026
Jean Dutty
POWAY
CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE
February 28, 2024
HEALTH & WELLNESS COMMITTEE
12222 Poway Rd. Suite 27
Poway, CA 92064
RE: Support for a Tobacco Retailer Licensing Ordinance
Dear Mayor Vaus and Councilmembers,
Thank you for your leadership in protecting public health in Poway. I am writing to you on behalf of the Poway Chamber of Commerce Health & Wellness Committee to express our support for the adoption of a Tobacco Retailer Licensing (TRL) policy in Poway as an effective tool to reduce youth access to tobacco products. Like the policy passed in December of 2020 by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for Unincorporated San Diego County, a strong TRL would include restrictions on flavored tobacco and vape products. This inclusion along with a high enough licensing fee to fully fund annual compliance monitoring is imperative to keep these products away from The tobacco industry targets young people with cool, high-tech, flavored tobacco products that are highly appealing to them. Vaping is "strongly associated" with the use of other tobacco products among youth. Teens who vape are 3 times more likely than teens who don't vape to become daily cigarette smokers. With the prevalence of youth vaping, it is imperative that we keep these deadly products out of the hands of our young people.
In a survey conducted with Poway Residents (2022-2023), 98% of respondents said that tobacco products are harmful to people's health, 75% agreed that their City Council should take action tobacco, 76% favored a law to phase out the sale of tobacco products, and 71% said that fewer people would use tobacco products if it were harder to purchase them.
The Poway Chamber Health & Wellness Committee is committed to building a healthy community. As city leaders, we appreciate your dedication to changing policies that lead to a healthy and safe community here in Poway. We hope you will do whatever you can to protect our young people from a lifetime of nicotine addiction.
Respectfully,
Suspen
Stephanie Spears
Poway Chamber Health & Wellness Committee Chair