Memorandum

Memorandum

To:    Mike Wildgen, City Manager and

David L. Corliss, Assistant City Manager and Director of Legal Services

From: Toni Ramirez Wheeler, Staff Attorney and

Regan Gerlt, Management Intern

Cc:     Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager

Re:     St. Louis Park, Minnesota’s Tobacco Disclosure Program

Date: December 9, 2004

This memorandum summarizes the main components of the St. Louis Park, Minnesota Tobacco Disclosure Program and provides some basic information on St. Louis Park’s testing experience.  Brian Hoffman, Director of Inspections, St. Louis Park, MN, provided information for this report.  (We have not independently investigated the accuracy of his statements regarding equipment and laboratory costs.) 

The Program

Food and beverage establishments providing indoor seating are subject to the Tobacco Disclosure Program requirements, unless the establishment is a smoke-free establishment.  Compliance with the program is a condition of the establishment’s food and beverage licenses.  Violation of these provisions of the code is a misdemeanor offense and may place the establishment’s food and beverage licenses in jeopardy.

The program has three main requirements:  the payment of an annual program surcharge, testing the air in the establishments’ designated non-smoking section for nicotine and posting the results of the testing, and providing written materials on the health risks of environmental tobacco smoke to employees and patrons.

(a)      The surcharge.  In addition to food and beverages license fees, the City assesses an annual surcharge for the Tobacco Disclosure Program.  Currently, the surcharge is $700 annually.  The surcharge is designed to cover the costs of the city staff time in collecting the air samples, the equipment and testing expenses, and the production and distribution of the pamphlets. 

(b)     The Collection of Air Samples and Posting Notices.  Three city health inspectors collect the air samples from each licensed establishment three times annually.  The samples are collected from the establishment’s designated non-smoking area at various hours of the establishment’s operation (opening, middle, and closing).  At each inspection, two air samples are taken to ensure accuracy.  A total of six samples are taken each year from each licensed establishment.  The air collection equipment is disguised so that patrons will not alter their smoking behavior at testing times.  A sample is collected over a period of time spanning between 60 and 400 minutes. 

The health inspectors collect the air samples with an air pump and filter specifically designed for nicotine testing.  St. Louis Park purchases the pump and filters from a Pennsylvania company, S.K.C. Incorporated. 

St. Louis Park, MN analyzes the samples in-house through a cooperative agreement with a county laboratory.  The city leased a 15-year-old Hewlitt Packer gas chromatography system for $20,000 for analyzing the air samples.  Mr. Hoffman reported St. Louis Park located only two commercial laboratories in the country (in Vancouver, Washington and Chicago, Illinois) that could perform the testing using the National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Method 2544.  The laboratories charge approximately $100 per sample.  St. Louis Park elected to set up its own laboratory because of the high cost of the commercial laboratory tests.  The air samples also deteriorate with time and are heat and light sensitive.  Mr. Hoffman reported the City was concerned with the accuracy of the tests if the samples had to be shipped a great distance.  Shipping expenses (in temperature controlled packaging) was another concern. 

After the samples are analyzed, each establishment receives a business specific disclosure notice specifying the average level of nicotine sampled.  The notice, required to be placed on entrance doors, also advises the public that they may be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke in the non-smoking seating section.  New notices are issued each calendar year.

(c) Public Education Materials.  The establishments subject to the program must make available to its patrons and employees written materials supplied by the City.  The materials provide information on environmental tobacco smoke and the disclosure notice.

Mr. Hoffman reported that the establishments in St. Louis Park have complied with the program since it went into effect in January 2004. 

The Hennepin County smoking ban set to go into effect March 31, 2005 will make the St. Louis Park Tobacco Disclosure Program unnecessary.  See Regan Gerlt’s memorandum dated December 1, 2004, (located on page 7 in the smoking ban materials previously provided for this agenda item) for more information on the Hennepin County ordinance.