Press Releases

Legislators Get a Head Start on Reversing Youth Tobacco Epidemic

Pre-Filed Bills Part of Comprehensive Approach to Protect Kids from Tobacco Addiction

MINNEAPOLIS (1/31/20) – Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation today thanked lawmakers for getting a head start on efforts to reverse the youth tobacco epidemic. Today, Commerce Committee Chair Representative Laurie Halverson (DFL-Eagan) introduced a bill to prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Minnesota (HF3032). Health and Human Services Policy Committee Chair Representative Rena Moran (DFL-St. Paul) also pre-filed a bill to protect kids riding in vehicles from secondhand smoke and aerosol (HF3072). These bills are critical pieces of a comprehensive plan to protect kids from tobacco addiction.

“Minnesota needs bold action to address the youth tobacco epidemic, and we are grateful to lawmakers who are making tobacco prevention a top priority in 2020,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Clearing the market of all flavored tobacco products and preventing youth exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol are important steps toward ensuring a smoke-free generation. We look forward to working with lawmakers to build on these ideas and pass a bold package of policies this year.”

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. In the 2020 Legislative Session, the coalition will promote a comprehensive approach to address tobacco’s harm. The coalition is united behind four major goals that 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.

Governor Tim Walz, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan and legislators from both chambers have indicated they plan to make tobacco prevention a priority in the 2020 Session. In the 2019 Legislative Session, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed bills to include e-cigarettes in the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act and fund quit-tobacco services.

In addition to the pre-filed bills, two significant tobacco prevention bills were held over from the 2019 Session. Last session, bipartisan lawmakers advanced bills to raise the state tobacco age to 21 in both chambers (HF331/SF463). The House also passed a bill that dedicates delinquent tobacco settlement fees to prevention (HF1058/SF462). Lawmakers should continue advancing these bills this year.

“We hope these pre-filed bills are just the start of bold action from Minnesota lawmakers to address tobacco’s harm in our state,” Moilanen added.

Minnesota continues to face major tobacco-related challenges that affect the health and pocketbooks of all residents. Here is a summary of four key challenges:

1. Minnesota youth are experiencing an e-cigarette epidemic and vaping rates continue to rise.
   While youth cigarette smoking is at historic lows, rising e-cigarette rates have erased nearly two decades of progress to reduce youth tobacco use. In 2019, more than a quarter of Minnesota 11^th-graders and more than one in 10 8^th-graders reported vaping. Schools and communities are facing a major health crisis, which is fueled by JUUL and other Big Tobacco companies.

3. The federal government has failed to regulate kid-friendly tobacco products.
   The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has failed to act on rising health threats, despite having sweeping power to regulate all tobacco products. In January, President Trump announced a temporary ban only on some pod-based, candy-flavored e-cigarettes. The plan falls dramatically short of the President’s promise to clear the market of all flavored e-cigarettes. This paltry action leaves many youth-friendly products on the market. 
4. Tobacco control funding falls short and is declining.
   Minnesota only spends about a third of the $53 million the CDC recommends the state invest in tobacco prevention and control efforts each year. To make matters worse, ClearWay Minnesota, which currently funds the majority of the state’s spending on tobacco prevention, will sunset in 2021. Of the $780 million Minnesota collected last year in tobacco taxes and settlement fees, less than 1 percent was spent on tobacco control.
5. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease.
   Every year, smoking takes the lives of more than 6,300 Minnesotans and costs over $7 billion in health care expenses and lost productivity. Fourteen percent of Minnesota adults still smoke, and the burden of tobacco use and disease remain unconscionably high in diverse communities.

These complex challenges require a comprehensive approach. During the 2020 Legislative Session, Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation will advocate for these policies to stem youth tobacco addiction:

5. Adopt Tobacco 21 statewide
   In late December, President Trump signed Tobacco 21 into federal law as part of a budget bill. The FDA directed retailers nationwide to immediately implement the tobacco age of 21. Adopting the statewide Tobacco 21 bill (HF331/SF463) will ensure Minnesota can maximize the benefits of Tobacco 21 through strong enforcement and compliance.
6. Prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products
   Flavored tobacco products are a key reason Minnesota is facing a youth nicotine epidemic. Prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products, especially menthol, as Rep. Halverson has proposed (HF3032), will create a healthier future for kids and address tobacco-related health disparities.
7. Fund tobacco Prevention and cessation
   Tobacco control programs in Minnesota have saved thousands of lives and billions of dollars over the past 20 years. The state should continue investing in sustainable, proven strategies to reduce youth tobacco use and address tobacco’s harm in Minnesota. One solution is to pass HF1058/SF462, which requires the state to dedicate a portion of recouped tobacco settlement fees to youth tobacco prevention. In addition, lawmakers could dedicate existing or new tobacco tax revenue to lifesaving tobacco prevention programs.
8. Raise the price of tobacco products
   Price is the most powerful policy tool to reduce smoking rates, and new evidence shows high prices may lower youth e-cigarette use. Raising tobacco prices through a tax or other strategies would stop kids from smoking and help existing smokers quit.
9. Protect youth from exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol
   Protecting youth from secondhand smoke and aerosol exposure in vehicles will guard kids from numerous health risks. Research finds that average secondhand smoke exposure in a car is equivalent to sitting for three hours in a smoky bar. Rep. Moran’s bill (HF3072) would prohibit smoking – including e-cigarette use – in a vehicle when children under 18 are present. Nine state have passed similar laws to protect kids.

“Tobacco continues to harm our state – and we can’t stand idly by while Big Tobacco addicts the next generation of Minnesotans,” Moilanen concluded. “In 2020, let’s work together to put the health of our kids over tobacco industry profits.”

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, 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.