Public health recommends stricter laws on tobacco sales

Waseca County Public Health worker Josh Ramaker encouraged county commissioners to update the county’s codes and practices surrounding tobacco sales, mentioning to them that the current statute was enacted in 1999.

 

In a presentation given during the Oct. 6 county board meeting, Ramaker commented that much has changed in the tobacco industry since 1999, and went on to share a set of recommendations which include raising the licensing fee for retail outlets which sell tobacco products from the current cost of $150 to $450, an amount he said would more realistically address the county’s expenses in administering, implementing, and enforcing its code. Ramaker shared that the county currently licenses seven tobacco retailers located in Janesville, New Richland, and unincorporated locations. The City of Waseca handles retailers within its borders.

 

Ramaker stated that, in 2025, about 2,250 county adults reported they are smokers. The adverse affects of smoking and the health care smokers often need due to failing health, he said, create a tax burden of “nearly $1,000 per household.” 

 

He went on to state the adults “probably wouldn’t be smokers if they had not been targeted as youth.”

 

Ramaker commented on the remarkably powerful marketing techniques tobacco companies use to lure young people into trying cigarettes and other nicotine inhalants. 

 

His presentation slide show included a photo of a school principal’s drawer full of confiscated nicotine products; most of them were pocket-sized “vape” units. “Every principal has a drawer like this,” stated Ramaker. “They confiscate new units on a daily basis.”

 

Among the recommendations which will be included in the proposed new codes, Ramaker told commissioners, are raising the age a clerk must be to sell tobacco products; raising the number of compliance checks at retailers from one to two; prohibiting delivery sales, including drive-through purchases; and not licensing any facility located within 1,000 feet of a location known to be frequented by youth.

 

Noting that fruit, menthol or mint, and the tastes of candy, desserts, and other sweets are the flavors most often used by youth, he suggested it would be an important step toward protecting area youth–and the adults they will someday become–if the county forbids the sale of flavored nicotine products anywhere within its borders. Ramaker requested that the county might hold a public hearing regarding the proposed new standards during a meeting in December.