Flavoring

End the sale of menthol cigarettes and all other flavored *commercial tobacco products

SF2123 (Champion)/HF2177(Cha)

Minnesotans agree: it is more important to protect kids and end the sale of all flavored tobacco products than it is to protect tobacco industry profits.

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation supports ending the sale of all flavored commercial tobacco products — including menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, e-cigarettes, hookah, and smokeless tobacco — to prevent youth addiction, advance racial and health equity, and create a healthier future for everyone. It’s time for the legislature to pass SF2123 (Champion)/HF2177 (Cha).

Commercial tobacco use costs our state lives and dollars but there is a solution

• Every time Big Tobacco addicts another generation of kids to smoking, they put all taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in healthcare costs to treat tobacco-related diseases.
• A new report commissioned by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota shows that smoking is responsible for 6,530 deaths annually.¹
• Smoking costs our state $4.7 billion in excess health care costs and $4.7 billion lost productivity each year.¹
• Ending the sale of flavored tobacco products would save our state millions of dollars, help thousands
  of people quit smoking, and prevent youth nicotine addiction.

Flavored products are luring a new generation into addiction

• In Minnesota, one in seven 11th graders uses e-cigarettes, and 88 percent of those students
  use flavored e-cigarettes.²
• More than 70 percent of youth who use e-cigarettes in Minnesota are showing signs of nicotine dependence.³
• More than 80 percent of youth who ever tried tobacco reported starting with a flavored tobacco product.^4,5
• Today’s popular e-cigarettes are flavored and contain high levels of nicotine which harms the adolescent brain development and primes the next generation for addiction.^6,7,8
• Flavored hookah products are also targeted at youth. Hookah use is not unique to any community or culture and is becoming increasingly common among young people from many different backgrounds.⁹
• Candy and fruit flavored tobacco products mask the harsh taste of tobacco and are often incorrectly perceived to be “less harmful,” but the use of such products, including menthol cigarettes, can still lead to cancer, heart disease and chronic pulmonary disease.^10,11,12,13

Big tobacco targets Black, LGBTQIA2S+, American Indians and young people with menthol tobacco

• Tobacco companies use menthol tobacco products to target Black communities, LGBTQIA2S+ people, American Indians and young people, causing death and disease.^14,16
• Nationally, 85 percent of Black people who smoke use menthols, versus 29 percent of white people
  who smoke.^14,15
• Among Minnesota teens who smoke, 33 percent report smoking menthol cigarettes.¹⁷
• In Minnesota, smoking rates among American Indians are at epidemic levels (59 percent), and 42 percent of urban American Indians who smoke use menthol cigarettes.^18,19
• Menthol flavoring contributes to greater nicotine dependence; those who smoke menthol have
  a much harder time quitting.²⁰
• MSFG supports culturally-appropriate, well-funded, well-publicized cessation and treatment resources.

Weak federal rules allow the tobacco industry to use flavors to target youth, Minnesotans

• The FDA’s delay to end all flavored e-cigarette sales has led to dramatic increases among products still available, including a 1000 percent increase in disposable e-cigarette use by high schoolers.²¹
• The federal government (FDA) is expected to have a finalized rule prohibiting the use of menthol in cigarettes in 2024, but the rule will likely take years to implement due to tobacco industry interference and litigation. Minnesota should act now to improve health and decrease our youth smoking rate.²²

It is time to end the sale of all flavored commercial tobacco products

• Ending the sale of all commercial flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, e-cigarettes, hookah, and smokeless tobacco will improve the health of Black communities, LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, American Indians, and young people.^14,15
• Studies show that local flavor restrictions reduce the chance that teens will ever try tobacco products.²³
• Among Minnesotans who smoke menthol, half reported they would quit smoking if menthol
  cigarettes were no longer sold.²⁴
• Minnesota communities are leading the way. 25% of Minnesotans are covered by a local ordinance that restrict or prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products.²⁵
• These policies are overwhelmingly popular. A 2023 statewide poll found that 62 percent of Minnesotans support the proposal to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco products. Support for this policy was high across demographics and regions, including among African Americans (68 percent support) and rural residents (67 percent support).²⁶

*Tobacco in this document refers specifically to the use of manufactured, commercial tobacco products, and not to the sacred, medicinal and traditional use of tobacco by American Indians and other groups.

For more information, view our fact sheet.

Commercial Tobacco and Cannabis Intersection

2023 Flavored Tobacco Poll Summary, download.