Press Releases

As QUITPLAN® Services Winds Down, Lawmakers Must Continue to Prioritize Funding for Quit-Smoking Help

Minnesota’s Current Quit-Smoking Program Ends in Less than a Year

ST PAUL (4/11/19) – In Minnesota, there are nearly 600,000 adult smokers and many of them are struggling to quit. If new funding is not approved this year, Minnesota will become the only state in the nation not providing quit-smoking services.

Funded by the tobacco settlement, ClearWay Minnesota was established as a life-limited organization and will sunset by 2022. The quit-smoking program it has operated for 18 years, QUITPLAN Services, will end in March 2020. QUITPLAN Services provides comprehensive support to Minnesota tobacco users trying to quit, including the QUITPLAN Helpline and a range of integrated support services from text messages to FDA-approved medications. ClearWay Minnesota is ready to pass the baton to the Minnesota Department of Health to provide this life-saving support.

“Time is running out. With less than a year remaining for QUITPLAN Services, lawmakers must ensure that funding for statewide quit-smoking services makes it over the finish line this session,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Smoking costs Minnesota $7 billion annually and takes the lives of more than 6,300 Minnesotans every year. Given tobacco’s tremendous toll on our state, it’s in everyone’s best interest to help Minnesotans break this powerful addiction. The good news is that these services are effective and save lives and money.”

To date, legislative leaders have indicated their support for tobacco cessation. Funding for these services was included in the Governor and Lieutenant Governor’s proposed budget and in the House and Senate HHS finance omnibus bills. After the legislative break, the House and Senate omnibus bills will be heard on the House and Senate floors. Then a conference committee will negotiate a final budget. Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation urges all parties to keep tobacco cessation funding intact throughout this process.

There is still a strong need for quit-smoking help in Minnesota. Despite progress to reduce smoking rates, tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease. While smoking rates in Minnesota had been declining for decades, the most recent Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey found the adult cigarette smoking rate has stalled out at 14 percent, and tobacco use remains high among priority populations. Youth tobacco use has also increased in Minnesota for the first time in a generation, driven by e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products. Nationally, the explosive rise in youth e-cigarette use has been called an epidemic by the U.S. Surgeon General.

Meanwhile, the state collects hundreds of millions in tobacco revenue but spends very little preventing tobacco use and helping smokers quit. Last year, the state of Minnesota collected more than $750 million in tobacco taxes and settlement fees yet less than one percent of that was spent on tobacco prevention and cessation. The legislature should use more tobacco revenues to help Minnesotans quit smoking and prevent youth from starting.

“We are grateful that Chair Benson, Chair Liebling and the Governor and Lt. Governor all have indicated that they support tobacco cessation,” Moilanen added. “Helping smokers quit is a shared priority, so let’s get it done quickly. Together, we can send a message that every Minnesotan is supported in their efforts to quit smoking.”

In addition to advocating for quit-smoking services, Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation is also working on addressing tobacco addiction from several angles, including raising the tobacco age to 21, strengthening the clean indoor air act to include e-cigarettes and dedicating delinquent tobacco settlement payments to health. These four measures were included in the House HHS omnibus bill, but only smoking cessation funding was included in the Senate HHS omnibus bill. Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation urged legislators to prioritize Minnesota youth and health by passing all four provisions this session.

More info: Cessation funding fact sheet

About Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation is a coalition of more than 60 organizations that share a common goal of saving Minnesota youth from a lifetime of addiction to tobacco. The coalition supports policies that reduce youth smoking and nicotine addiction, including increasing tobacco prices, raising the tobacco sale age to 21, limiting access to candy-, fruit- and menthol-flavored tobacco, and funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

Partners include: A Healthier Southwest, African American Leadership Forum, Allina Health, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association in Minnesota, Apple Tree Dental, Association for Nonsmokers – Minnesota, Aurora/St. Anthony Neighborhood Corporation, Becker County Energize, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, CentraCare Health, Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, ClearWay Minnesota^SM,  Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio – CLUES, Dodge County Public Health, Essentia Health, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, HealthEast, HealthPartners, Hennepin Healthcare, Hope Dental Clinic, Horizon Public Health, Indigenous Peoples Task Force, ISAIAH, JustUs Health, LAAMPP Alumni, Lake Region Healthcare, Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative, Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, March of Dimes, Mayo Clinic, Medica, Meeker McLeod Sibley Community Health Services, Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians, Minnesota Cancer Alliance, Minnesota Council of Health Plans, Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Medical Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota Oral Health Coalition, Minnesota Public Health Association, MN Association of Community Health Centers, MN Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Model Cities of St. Paul, Inc., NAMI Minnesota, North Memorial Health Care, NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center, Olmsted Medical Center, PartnerSHIP 4 Health, Perham Health, Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, Shift MN, St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, Steele County Public Health, Tobacco Free Alliance, Twin Cities Medical Society, UCare, Vision In Living Life “Change is Possible”,  WellShare International and Zumbro Valley Medical Society. Find out more at: smokefreegenmn.org.