Press Releases

Minnesota Takes Steps to Reduce Tobacco’s Harm

HHS Budget provides Quit-Smoking Funding and Includes E-Cigarettes in Freedom to Breathe Act

ST PAUL (5/31/19) – The Minnesota Health and Human Services (HHS) budget, which was signed into law today by Governor Tim Walz, contains two important provisions that will reduce tobacco’s harm in the state. The HHS budget includes funding for the Minnesota Department of Health to provide and promote statewide quit-smoking services. It also expands the definition of smoking to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes in indoor areas where smoking is already banned. 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, celebrated these important policies and thanked lawmakers for their leadership.

“This budget ensures every Minnesota resident can breathe easier and access quit-smoking services,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Tobacco use remains our leading cause of preventable death and disease and our state is facing a teen e-cigarette epidemic. We must do more to address tobacco addiction, and these are two great steps toward reducing tobacco’s harm. Thank you to Governor Walz, Lt. Governor Flanagan and lawmakers throughout the state for standing up for our health.”

Minnesota is the 14^th state to include e-cigarettes in its clean indoor air law. Beginning August 1, e-cigarettes can no longer be used indoors where cigarette smoking is already prohibited.

ClearWay Minnesota will also work closely with the Minnesota Department of Health to ensure every Minnesotan has access to quit-smoking services through this tobacco cessation funding. QUITPLAN® Services, the state’s free quit-smoking helpline, is ending in 2020 because the services are funded and administered by ClearWay Minnesota, which will sunset in 2022.

The Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation coalition also noted several positive policies that made progress this session, including raising the tobacco age to 21, strong tobacco price proposals and efforts to dedicate tobacco settlement funds to improving health. Tobacco 21 gained significant momentum this year, due in large part to the growing concern about the e-cigarette epidemic, and 34 local policies that have passed in Minnesota since 2017. The House Taxes Committee also discussed ways to increase the price of tobacco products, which is the single most effective way to reduce youth tobacco use and help adults quit. Governor Walz proposed restoring a higher tax cap on cigars, and other legislators proposed new ways to increase the price of e-cigarettes. While these proposals did not pass, they elevated the conversation about how to protect kids from addiction.

Finally, the bill to dedicate delinquent tobacco settlement fees to improving health made progress but did not pass this year. Since 2015, several cigarette brands have not been paying their required share of settlement fees to the state of Minnesota. This proposal would have dedicated those recouped fees to improving health, now and in the future. Sustainable funding for tobacco prevention and cessation is especially critical as ClearWay Minnesota, a major funder of such programs, comes to the end of its limited life. Last year, Minnesota took in more than $750 million in settlement fees and tobacco taxes – yet less than one percent of that was used for tobacco prevention or cessation.

“Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation is eager to work with the Walz/Flanagan Administration and legislative leaders in the future on bold policies to reduce tobacco’s toll in Minnesota,” Moilanen added.

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Minnesota. Every year, smoking costs state residents $7 billion and takes the lives of 6,300 Minnesotans. Unfortunately, Minnesota is losing ground to the tobacco industry. In 2017, youth tobacco use rose for the first time in a generation and the state’s adult smoking rate is stalled at around 14 percent.

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.