Press Releases

Hennepin County Passes Bold Tobacco Prevention Policy

Becomes Minnesota’s 39^th Tobacco 21 Community and 9^th Community to Restrict Sales of All Flavored Tobacco Products

MINNEAPOLIS (7/9/19) – Today, Hennepin County Commissioners approved a bold tobacco policy that will protect youth from addiction and address tobacco-related disparities. The policy raises the tobacco age to 21, restricts the sale of all flavored tobacco products including menthol to adult-only tobacco stores, and sets a minimum price of $3.00 for cigars. The policy passed 6-1 and will go into effect on January 1, 2020.

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation, a coalition of more than 60 organizations that share a common goal of reducing youth smoking and ending tobacco’s harm for good, thanked Hennepin County Commissioners for their leadership. Hennepin County becomes Minnesota’s ninth community to restrict the sale of all flavored tobacco products (including menthol) to adult-only stores. It is the 39^th Minnesota city or county to raise their tobacco sale age to 21.

“Here in Minnesota, youth tobacco use is up for the first time in a generation and every level of government should act to protect kids from addiction,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Thank you to Hennepin County Commissioners for their comprehensive approach to combating tobacco addiction through raising the sale age, restricting where flavored products can be sold and preventing the sale of cheap, kid-friendly cigars. No single policy is a cure-all to prevent youth smoking, but together, Tobacco 21, flavor restrictions and minimum pricing will have a tremendous collective impact to reduce youth tobacco use and save lives.”

These policies affect the areas where Hennepin County serves as the tobacco licensing authority, including several small cities and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Many cities within Hennepin County that conduct their own tobacco licensing have passed similar policies. Eleven Hennepin County cities have passed Tobacco 21, three cities have restricted the sale of flavored tobacco products and five cities have passed minimum cigar pricing and packaging policies.

Here in Minnesota and across the nation, high schools are experiencing what the U.S. Surgeon General calls an epidemic of teen e-cigarette use. This trend is disrupting decades of progress to reduce youth tobacco use. The 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey found soaring e-cigarette and flavored tobacco use led to the first rise in youth tobacco rates in a generation. JUUL and other popular e-cigarette brands contain high levels of nicotine, which harms the adolescent brain and may prime young brains for addiction.

Sixteen states have raised their tobacco sales age to 21, and several more are in the queue. Minnesota has far more Tobacco 21 communities than any other state without a statewide law. Advocates and legislators from both sides of the aisle are committed to passing a strong, statewide Tobacco 21 policy next session.

Raising the tobacco age to 21 will help keep commercial tobacco products out of schools and other places youth frequent. Reducing youth access to tobacco products can prevent lifetime addiction since nearly 95 percent of addicted adult smokers start before age 21. The National Academy of Medicine estimates that Tobacco 21 would reduce smoking among 15-to-17-year-olds by 25 percent.

Flavored tobacco products and cheap cigars also lure youth into lifetime addiction and these restrictions will help address tobacco-related disparities and protect youth. The tobacco industry has a long history of targeting youth, African Americans, women and LGBTQ communities with menthol marketing. Menthol tobacco flavoring makes it easier for kids to start smoking and harder for adults to quit. Restricting the sale of menthol tobacco products to adult-only tobacco stores reduces the number of outlets where these products are available and prevents young people from being exposed to tobacco industry marketing.

Finally, price remains paramount in reducing tobacco use. Tobacco companies use cheap, flavored products – including cigars – as a way to entice young people to try tobacco and become addicted to nicotine. The 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey found that nearly 11 percent of high school students used cigars or cigarillos in the past 30 days, up 29 percent from 2014.

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation will continue to work with communities across the state to pass bold public policies and encourage statewide action in the 2020 Legislative Session.

More info: Tobacco 21 fact sheet, E-cigarette fact sheet, Flavored tobacco 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, Cancer Legal Care, 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.