Press Releases

Lawmakers Unveil Bipartisan Legislation to Tackle Tobacco Addiction

Three Bills Will Address Youth Nicotine Epidemic, Strengthen Clean Indoor Air Law and Provide Quit-Smoking Help

21. PAUL (1/24/19) – Today, a bipartisan group of legislators introduced a package of bills to tackle tobacco addiction. The three bills will help save lives and money by strengthening Minnesota’s clean indoor air law, providing quit-smoking help for all Minnesota residents and raising the tobacco age to 21. Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation applauded the authors, who represent communities throughout the state, for their leadership. 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.

“Now more than ever, we have to make sure Minnesota kids don’t become addicted to nicotine and adult tobacco users have the support they need to quit – and these bills do just that,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Minnesotans agree that we can do more to tackle tobacco and nicotine addiction, and we’re glad to see legislators from across Minnesota stand up for our kids and our health. These three bills offer a common-sense approach to strengthening our clean indoor air law, preventing youth tobacco addiction by raising the sale age to 21, and ensuring every Minnesota resident can access quit-smoking help.”

Tobacco use remains Minnesota’s leading cause of preventable death and disease, costing an estimated $7 billion annually and taking the lives of more than 6,300 Minnesotans every year. Unfortunately, the state’s progress to reduce tobacco use has been interrupted by the relentless tactics of the tobacco industry. In Minnesota alone, the tobacco industry still spends more than $100 million a year marketing its products to recruit replacement smokers and keep users hooked. That spending doesn’t even include e-cigarette ads, which were seen by 88 percent of middle and high-school students in Minnesota.

Smoking rates in Minnesota had been declining for decades, but the adult cigarette smoking rate has stalled out at 14 percent, and for the first time in a generation youth tobacco use has increased. In particular, youth and young adult e-cigarette rates have skyrocketed, and today about one in five Minnesota high-schoolers and young adults (18-24-year-olds) uses e-cigarettes such as JUUL. E-cigarettes are threatening the health of Minnesota teens, driving an increase in youth tobacco use that the U.S. Surgeon General has called an epidemic.

“Tobacco use costs Minnesotans far too much, and we need to take action to ensure our families, communities and businesses are healthy and strong,” said Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester), a lead author on all three bills in the Senate. “By providing quit-tobacco help, preventing youth from starting tobacco and strengthening our clean indoor air law, we are tackling tobacco addiction from different angles. Combined, these bills would have a very positive effect on our state, and can help us save money and lives. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation.”

“Teachers, parents, students and our schools all tell us that far too many young people are using JUUL and other highly addictive tobacco products. We cannot sit by and watch our kids develop a lifetime addiction,” said Rep. Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina), lead author on Tobacco 21 in the House and Representative for Edina, Minnesota’s first Tobacco 21 city. “Raising the tobacco age to 21 will reduce youth smoking and save lives. In the face of a youth nicotine epidemic, Tobacco 21 is the right thing to do.”

“As a former smoker who started when I was young, I know the grip that tobacco can have on your life,” said Rep. Sandy Layman (R-Cohasset), a co-author of the Tobacco 21 bill again this year. “Tobacco 21 will help young people avoid this terrible addiction by helping to keep tobacco products out of our middle schools and high schools. I am proud to support this proposal to make Minnesota the next Tobacco 21 state.”

“Including e-cigarettes in the clean indoor air act is a sensible step that ensures everyone in Minnesota can breathe the clean air they expect and deserve,” said Rep. Laurie Halverson (DFL-Eagan), chief author on the clean indoor air bill, who introduced a similar measure in 2014. “Minnesota should have passed this policy in 2014 and there is no time like the present to take care of unfinished business. Fifty-six Minnesota cities and counties have already taken this step to protect their residents and visitors from e-cigarette aerosol and it’s time for a comprehensive statewide policy. A recent poll found that more than 80 percent of residents support this common-sense measure – let’s get this passed this session.”

Minnesota can do more to protect children from a lifetime of addiction and disease and to help those already addicted quit for good. The three bills, which will be introduced later today in both the Senate and the House, are as follows:

 

Tobacco 21

House Authors: Rep. Heather Edelson (DFL-Edina), Rep. Sandy Layman (R-Cohasset), Rep. Dave Baker (R-Willmar), Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul), Rep. Kelly Morrison (DFL-Deephaven), Rep. Jennifer Schultz (DFL-Duluth), Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein (DFL-New Brighton)

Senate Authors: Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester), Sen. Matt Klein (DFL-Mendota Heights), Sen. Paul Anderson (R-Plymouth), Sen. Erik Simonson (DFL-Duluth)

Summary: Raising the tobacco sale age to 21 will help reduce youth smoking and save lives. To date, 22 Minnesota cities and counties have adopted Tobacco 21 policies. Passing a statewide bill would have a profound effect on health, reducing smoking among 15- to-17-year-olds by an estimated 25 percent.

More info: Tobacco 21 fact sheet

 

Smoking Cessation Funding

House Authors: Rep. Alice Mann (DFL-Lakeville), Rep. Joe Schomacher (R-Luverne), Rep. Tony Albright (R-Prior Lake), Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul), Rep. Jennifer Schultz (DFL-Duluth),

Senate Authors: Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester), Sen. Matt Klein (DFL-Mendota Heights), Sen. Paul Anderson (R-Plymouth), Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria), Sen. Michelle Benson (R-Ham Lake)

Summary: QUITPLAN® Services, the state’s free quit-smoking helpline, is ending in 2020. Lawmakers must fund quit-smoking resources this year so there is no gap in help for Minnesotans who are trying to quit tobacco. If Minnesota does not fund a statewide service, it will become the only state in the nation not providing one.

More info: Cessation funding fact sheet

 

Keeping Indoor Air Clean

House Authors: Rep. Laurie Halverson (DFL-Eagan), Rep. Nels Pierson (R-Stewartville), Rep. Jennifer Schultz (DFL-Duluth), Rep. Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul), Rep. Barb Haley (R-Red Wing)

Senate Authors: Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester), Sen. Matt Klein (DFL-Mendota Heights), Sen. Paul Anderson (R-Plymouth), Sen. Jeremy Miller (R-Winona), Sen. Julie Rosen (R-Vernon Center)

Summary: Minnesotans expect and deserve clean indoor air. This bill expands the definition of smoking to ensure Minnesota’s smoke-free indoor air law covers the use of e-cigarettes wherever smoking is prohibited. Several local Minnesota communities have passed these policies, but Minnesota does not have a comprehensive statewide law.

More info: E-cigarette fact sheet

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation urged committee chairs and legislators to take swift action on these bills.

 

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.