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Lawmakers Continue to Advance Tobacco Prevention Bills

Funding Bills, Tobacco 21, Kids in Cars Advance this Week in Legislature

ST. PAUL – This week, four tobacco prevention bills supported by Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation advanced in their respective committees. Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation urged legislators to continue to make reversing the youth tobacco epidemic a top priority. Committees in the House this week advanced Tobacco 21 (HF331), clean air for kids in cars (HF3072) and a funding bill to dedicate delinquent tobacco settlements to health (HF1058). Meanwhile, the Senate Taxes Committee laid over a tobacco tax dedication proposal (SF3512) for potential inclusion in their tax bill.

“Minnesota lawmakers from all corners of the state have shown keen interest in protecting our kids from tobacco addiction,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Let’s continue this great momentum and pass comprehensive, life-saving policies this legislative session. Our kids are facing a tobacco epidemic and they cannot wait.”

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 urges lawmakers to take a comprehensive approach to reduce youth smoking and nicotine addiction, including increasing tobacco prices, raising the tobacco sale age to 21, prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products and investing in tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The coalition also supports extending Minnesota’s clean indoor air protections to kids in cars.

Here is a summary of the progress lawmakers made this week on tobacco bills:

Kids in Cars

The House Transportation Finance and Policy Division on Tuesday heard Rep. Rena Moran’s (DFL-St. Paul) bill (HF3072) to protect kids in cars from secondhand smoke and e-cigarette aerosol. The bill passed out of the committee on a voice vote with no audible opposition.

Research finds that 30-minute secondhand smoke exposure in a car is equivalent to sitting for three hours in a smoke-filled room yet nearly one in four Minnesota kids reported riding in a smoky car in the past month. This bill would prohibit smoking – including e-cigarette use – in a vehicle when children under 18 are present. To date, nine other states have passed similar laws protecting kids in cars.

More info: Clean Air for Kids in Cars

Tobacco 21

The House Health and Human Services Finance Division on Tuesday heard Rep. Heather Edelson’s (DFL-Edina) bill to adopt Tobacco 21 statewide (HF331). This bill will ensure Minnesota adopts federal Tobacco 21 and maximizes the benefits of this policy. In December, President Trump signed into law federal Tobacco 21 but Minnesota still must update the state tobacco age. HF331 would ensure Minnesota updates its tobacco age compliance, enforcement, signage and penalties.

This bill was included in the 2019 House omnibus health budget but did not make it into the final compromise budget. On Tuesday, HHS Finance passed it on a voice vote and referred the bill to Ways and Means.

More info: Adopt a Strong Tobacco 21 Law

Tobacco Prevention Funding

Tobacco prevention resources are declining in Minnesota at the same time we face a youth tobacco epidemic.  The CDC recommends the state invest $53 million in tobacco prevention and cessation efforts each year, yet Minnesota only spends about a third of that amount and resources are declining. ClearWay Minnesota currently funds the majority of the state’s spending on tobacco prevention and will sunset in 2021.

Thankfully, lawmakers are pursuing several different strategies to ensure the state has long-term efforts in place to prevent youth tobacco use.

On Tuesday, the House Health and Human Services Finance Division heard Rep. Laurie Halverson’s (DFL-Eagan) bill to dedicate delinquent tobacco settlement funds to health (HF1058). For several years, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Reynolds) has shirked its responsibility to pay their share of settlement fees. Last September, the Ramsey County District Court ordered Reynolds to pay Minnesota its unpaid tobacco settlement fees and that case continues to play out in the judicial system. HF1058 would dedicate a portion of these recouped funds to youth tobacco prevention. The bill was passed in the 2019 House health omnibus budget, but was not included in the ultimate compromise bill. The HHS Finance committee passed the bill on a voice vote and referred it to Ways and Means.

Later in the week, the Senate Taxes Committee heard a bill that takes a different approach to solving this problem. Chair Roger Chamberlain’s (R-Lino Lakes) proposal, SF3512, would dedicate a portion of tobacco tax revenue to tobacco prevention. Of the $780 million Minnesota collected last year in tobacco taxes and settlement fees – including $620 million in taxes and $163 million in settlement fees – less than 1 percent was spent on tobacco control. This bill would invest $15 million of that tobacco tax revenue in existing state tobacco control programs. In his bill presentation, Sen. Chamberlain highlighted Minnesota’s ongoing need for public education on smoking, youth tobacco prevention and quit-smoking resources. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the Senate tax bill.

More info: Fact Sheet: Funding Tobacco Prevention and Cessation

Flavored Tobacco Products

On Wednesday, the House Commerce Committee heard public testimony on HF3032, which would prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Minnesota. Chair Halverson is chief author of that bill and was joined by youth, physicians and public health experts in supporting the bill.

Research shows that flavored tobacco products are a key reason Minnesota is facing a youth nicotine epidemic, with 67 percent of current high-school tobacco users using a flavored product. Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation supports prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products, especially menthol, to keep kids healthy and address tobacco-related health disparities.

The committee heard testimony and will reconvene on Tuesday, March 10 to take member questions, discuss the proposal and vote.

More info: 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, 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, 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.