Resolution 160799

..Title Acknowledging the efforts of the Philadelphia Health Department and Board of Health to reduce the high rate of smoking in low-income neighborhoods and calling attention to the intense marketing efforts in these neighborhoods to encourage smoking. ..Body WHEREAS, Tobacco use contributed to the deaths of 2,152 Philadelphians, accounting for 15.4% of all deaths in the City in 2012; and WHEREAS, In 2013 the tobacco industry spent an estimated $54 million in marketing expenditures in Philadelphia, including ads and price discounts; and WHEREAS, Philadelphia has 3,455 active tobacco retailers, according to City data, more than double the number per capita as Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles; and WHEREAS, In 2015, about 48 percent of tobacco retailers were located in low-income zip codes in Philadelphia while 33 percent were located in mixed income zip codes and 19 percent were located in high-income zip codes; and WHEREAS, K-12 schools in low-income zip codes had on average 63% more tobacco retailers within 500 feet than schools in a high income zip code; and WHEREAS, Local year-round sales investigations reveal that one in five tobacco retailers in the City sell cigarettes illegally to youth, according to the Philadelphia Health Department; and WHEREAS, 12% of tobacco retailers do not post required signage to prevent illegal tobacco sales to minors, with even higher rates of non-compliance among non-chain pharmacies, takeout restaurants, and check-cashing sites; and WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Board of Health recently approved a set of regulations geared toward discouraging tobacco use in low-income neighborhoods, allowing only one tobacco retailer for every 1,000 residents by planning district; and WHEREAS, Tobacco retailers will no longer be able to establish themselves within 500 feet of K-12 schools, not including existing retailers who renew their permit and follow the law; and WHEREAS, The board also decided that retailers who are cited three times within two years will not be allowed to sell tobacco for a year; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby acknowledges the efforts of the Philadelphia Health Department and Board of Health to reduce the high rate of smoking in low-income neighborhoods and calling attention to the intense marketing efforts in these neighborhoods to encourage smoking. ..End