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Legislators Include Tobacco Prevention Funding in Health Budget

Lifesaving Investments Will Reduce Tobacco Addiction and Build a Healthier Future

St. Paul, Minn. – Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation thanked legislators for including an additional $4 million a year for tobacco prevention in the omnibus Health and Human Services (HHS) policy and finance bill. The Minnesota Senate and House of Representatives passed that bill last night. 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 comprehensive policies to end youth addiction, including sustainable funding for tobacco prevention and treatment.

“With this HHS budget, Minnesota will continue our shared efforts to build a future free from tobacco addiction,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Thank you to Chairs Liebling and Benson, as well as lead authors Rep. Morrison and Sen. Miller for finding a tobacco prevention funding solution. Our state has made great strides, but we continue to face a youth tobacco epidemic and health disparities caused by decades of tobacco marketing. Minnesota should continue investing in prevention and treatment until Big Tobacco no longer views our kids as ‘replacement smokers.’ And we must continue to fight against an industry that targets and harms Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ residents.”

There is an urgent need to invest in tobacco prevention since ClearWay Minnesota will sunset at the end of 2021, leaving a hole in prevention resources. Over the past two decades, ClearWay Minnesota, the foundation created with 3 percent of the tobacco settlement, has provided the majority of funding for the state’s tobacco prevention programs.

This funding would allow Minnesota to more aggressively prevent tobacco addiction before it starts. Minnesota has achieved historically low levels of youth smoking, but continues to face an e-cigarette epidemic that wiped out decades of progress to reduce overall youth tobacco use. The 2020 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey showed one in five Minnesota high-schoolers reported using e-cigarettes within the past 30 days, and 70 percent of youth e-cigarette users reported one or more signs of dependence.

The COVID-19 pandemic reinforces the need for strong tobacco prevention and treatment programs, since smokers are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. To make matters worse, communities targeted by the tobacco industry, including Black and Indigenous Minnesotans, are some of the hardest hit by COVID-19.

The HHS omnibus budget dedicates general funds to boost underfunded tobacco prevention programs at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation urges MDH to use these new funds to take on the youth e-cigarette epidemic and address racial disparities fueled by Big Tobacco.

These lifesaving investments represent just a small fraction of the state’s tobacco revenue totals. Last year, Minnesota collected nearly $760 million in tobacco revenue ($607 million in taxes and $152 million in settlement fees). In late March, the state also collected $81 million in tobacco settlement back payments. Despite all this revenue, Minnesota spent only 1 percent of that total on tobacco prevention and treatment.

More info:

• Fact sheet: Funding Tobacco Prevention and Treatment

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, ending the sale of menthol and all flavored tobacco products, and funding tobacco prevention and treatment 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 Society for Public Health Education, 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, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes (PAVe), 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.