I read with sadness "St. Louis County Council reverses total ban on tobacco sales near schools" (Jan. 15). That decision especially affects schools and residents in North County. I guess the six members who voted to override County Executive Sam Page's veto were unaware or simply didn't care that every hour one Missourian dies of tobacco use, one of three cancers in Missouri are attributed to smoking, and that one in four Missouri high school students use a tobacco product regularly.

Missouri has the lowest tobacco tax of 17 cents a pack, passed in 1993, compared to a U.S. average of $1.91 a pack. The rate of new lung cancer cases in Missouri is 67.7 per 100,000 population, significantly higher than the national rate of 53.6. The state got an estimated $263 million from the tobacco settlement in fiscal year 2022 but appropriated just $2.9 million in state funds to tobacco prevention.

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The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services website contains this statement: "Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Missouri." Shame on the County Council members who didn't give it a peek before voting.

Sally Sandy

Eureka

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