Press Releases

Ending Menthol Tobacco Sales Would Address Public Health Crisis of Racism

ST. PAUL (10/13/20) – Today, LaTrisha Vetaw, Director of Health Policy and Advocacy at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center testified to the Minnesota House Select Committee on Racial Justice regarding the tobacco industry’s targeting of African Americans with menthol tobacco marketing. Vetaw serves as co-chair of the Menthol Coalition and spoke on behalf of 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 reducing youth smoking and ending tobacco’s harm for good. The coalition supports action to end the sale of flavored tobacco products – especially menthol products.

“Racism is a public health crisis and one huge step we can take to address this crisis is ending sales of menthol tobacco products,” said LaTrisha Vetaw, Director of Health Policy and Advocacy at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center and co-chair of the Menthol Coalition. “For decades, Big Tobacco has marketed menthol cigarettes specifically to African American people, advertising in Black publications and neighborhoods, sponsoring concerts, and even driving around Black neighborhoods handing out free samples of menthol cigarettes.”

Aggressive advertising in Black magazines, Black neighborhoods and other tactics has targeted African Americans. Today, 88 percent of African American smokers smoke menthols, compared to 22 percent of white smokers. The exclusion of menthol tobacco in a federal 2009 ban on flavored cigarettes has institutionalized these disparities and cost precious lives. One research study found that if menthol had been banned when all other cigarette flavors were disallowed, by 2050 there would be an estimated 10 percent reduction in overall smoking prevalence and up to 633,252 lives would have been saved, a third of whom would have been African Americans.

To date, 17 Minnesota communities have restricted flavored tobacco products in some form including major cities – St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth – that restrict where menthol cigarettes can be sold. At the State Capitol, a bill (HF3032), to end the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Minnesota passed two committees in the House this session but was not heard in the Senate.

“A strong federal ban on menthol tobacco would make the biggest difference – but our health can’t wait for the FDA,” Vetaw added. “In 2021, let’s expand our bipartisan coalition to protect the health of Minnesotans from all flavored tobacco products – especially menthol.”

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation is a coalition of more than 60 organizations that share a common goal of reducing youth tobacco use and ending commercial tobacco’s harm for good. The coalition is united behind four major policies that reduce youth smoking and nicotine addiction, including increasing tobacco prices, prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products, investing in tobacco prevention programs and increasing the tobacco sale age to 21 – which was implemented statewide on August 1, 2020.

More info:

• MSFG Fact Sheet: Prohibit the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products

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: The African American Leadership Forum, Allina Health, Allina Health | Aetna, 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 Development Corporation, Becker County Energized, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation, Cancer Legal Care, CentraCare, Children’s Defense Fund-MN, Children’s Minnesota, ClearWay Minnesota^SM, Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio – CLUES, Dodge County Public Health, Education Minnesota, Essentia Health, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, A Healthier Southwest, HealthPartners, Hennepin Healthcare, Horizon Public Health, Indigenous Peoples Task Force, ISAIAH, JustUs Health, LAAMPP Alumni, Lake Region Healthcare, Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, LPCFC – Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative, March of Dimes, Masonic Cancer Center – University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, Medica, Meeker McLeod Sibley Community Health Services, Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians, Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers, Minnesota Cancer Alliance, Minnesota Council of Health Plans, Minnesota Dental Association, MHA – Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Medical Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota Oral Health Coalition, Minnesota Public Health Association, MNAAP – Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, ModelCities, NAMI Minnesota, North Memorial Health, NorthPoint Health & Wellness, Olmsted Medical Center, Open Cities Health Center, PartnerSHIP 4 Health, Perham Health & Living, Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, ShiftMN, 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.

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Note to editors and reporters: Minnesota advocates LaTrisha Vetaw and Damone Presley are featured in Bloomberg Businessweek’s story released today, “Lawsuit Aims to Ban Menthols, Big Tobacco’s Bait for Black Smokers,” which also discusses menthol tobacco’s targeting of African Americans.