Local doctor rallies for law changes by City Council
On November 21 the American Cancer Society will encourage smokers nationwide to quit smoking and retired Healdsburg physician Dr. David Anderson will support the cause by asking for policy changes on tobacco at the local level.
“I have asked the city council to pass a resolution that nobody in the city of Healdsburg can buy tobacco products on that day,” Anderson said.
“I have two gas stations that have agreed not to sell cigarettes that day, the Valero at Dry Creek and the Wine Country Chevron at the north end of Healdsburg said he will not sell for four hours,” he said.
Last year, Anderson asked all of the gas stations, convenience stores and pharmacies in town not to sell cigarettes on the Great American Smokeout Day but only had one gas station agree to participate.
“We think it’s a great thing, we have lost some family and friends to cancer and some have survived so if we can do a little on our part by all means we do,” said Butch Beth of Valero who will participate for the second time.
But Dr. Anderson has not stopped there. He has also asked the city council to pass two other resolutions to change the age requirement for tobacco products to 21-years of age and that all of the laws that apply to tobacco products also be applied to e-cigarettes.
“My main emphasis is to pass the resolution so that you can’t buy cigarettes under the age of 21. New York City has already established that and it takes place in six months. I would like Healdsburg to do it before them. And if Healdsburg does it then we can see if the county will do it, this is how you save lives,” Anderson said.
In a brief presentation to the Healdsburg City Council, Anderson gave facts on tobacco related deaths including the fact that smoking triples the likelihood of a heart attack and that heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, killing 600,000 people per year, cancer is the number two cause.
“I learned a lot last year, most people buy their cigarettes at gas stations and convenience stores and it’s a huge profit for them. One gas station said they sell $2,000 to $4,000 in tobacco products per day,” Anderson said.
To try and stop youth in the Healdsburg community from starting smoking, Anderson said he thinks that the laws have to change.
“If we had a carcinogen that we knew causing breast cancer it would be banned immediately, and yet we know the carcinogen that causes lung cancer and we let our teenagers have access to it,” he said. “One-in-five deaths in the United States are related to smoking. So if we can get these kids not to have cigarettes until they are 21, they are much less likely to smoke.”
The Healdsburg City Council is looking into the three proposed resolutions.
“As a practicing physician for 38 years, I believe that I saved some lives but this will save more lives than anything else I have ever done,” Anderson said. “And the city council they are the key to seeing this happens and they will help save lives if we do this.”
