Press Releases

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation Celebrates Legislative Wins for Tobacco Prevention and Treatment

Health Bill Dedicates JUUL Settlement Funds to Youth Prevention and Treatment, Expands Treatment Access for Medicaid

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Today, Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation thanked Minnesota lawmakers for delivering major wins for tobacco prevention and treatment in the Health and Human Services budget bill. The bill includes two significant provisions to prevent youth commercial tobacco addiction and support Minnesotans on Medicaid that are trying to quit smoking, vaping or chew. The legislation dedicates the state’s landmark settlement with JUUL and Altria to tobacco prevention, which was authored by Senator Kelly Morrison and Representative Kaohly Her (SF2520/HF2422). The bill also expands access to tobacco dependency treatment to Minnesotans on Medicaid, a policy authored by Representative Robert Bierman and Senator Kelly Morrison (SF1320/HF1574).

“Thank you to legislative leaders for continuing Minnesota’s leadership in reducing commercial tobacco addiction and advancing health,” said Emily Myatt, regional government relations director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and tri-chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Dedicating the state’s settlement with JUUL and Altria to prevention and treatment will safeguard these funds and hold Big Tobacco accountable for its harms to our youth. Expanding treatment coverage for residents on Medicaid is also a win-win that will help people trying to quit tobacco, to improve health and lower health costs.”

Last week, members of the Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation coalition joined Attorney General Keith Ellison, Governor Tim Walz, and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan in celebrating the State’s historic $60.5 million settlement with JUUL Labs and Altria. The coalition thanked lawmakers for taking advantage of this once-in-a-generation opportunity to fund commercial tobacco prevention and treatment.

One major piece of legislation remains undone, and the coalition urged lawmakers to use the second year of the legislative session to pass the bill to end the sale of menthol and all flavored commercial tobacco products in Minnesota (SF2123/HF2177). Flavors are driving the state’s youth tobacco crisis and the industry marketing of flavored products is a huge driver of tobacco-related health disparities.

“Every time Big Tobacco addicts another generation of kids, they put all taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in healthcare costs to treat tobacco-related diseases,” said Janelle Waldock, Director of Racial and Health Equity Policy, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Tri-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “We are grateful to all the lawmakers who passed life-saving measures to address tobacco’s harms and we won’t stop until all Minnesotans targeted by the tobacco industry are free from addiction.”

Minnesota is ready to end flavored tobacco sales. A quarter of the state’s population is currently covered by 28 local policies restricting sales of flavored and/or menthol tobacco products, and a recent poll found two-to-one support for the proposal to end flavored tobacco sales in Minnesota.

More information:

• Fact Sheet: Funding Tobacco Prevention and Treatment
• Fact Sheet: Greater Access to Tobacco Cessation and Treatment
• Fact Sheet: End the sale of all menthol and flavored tobacco products
• Recent Minnesota Poll: 2023 Flavored Tobacco Poll Summary

About Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation:

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation is a coalition of more than 50 organizations that share a common goal of advancing justice by striving toward a future where every person is free from commercial tobacco’s harms and can reach their full health potential. 

Partners include: A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation, Advocates for Better Health, Allina Health, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association in Minnesota, Association for Nonsmokers – Minnesota, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Cancer Legal Care, CentraCare, Children’s Minnesota, Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio – CLUES, Dodge County Public Health, Essentia Health, Eugene Nichols, Faribault Martin & Watonwan Co SHIP, Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare, HealthPartners, Hennepin County Public Health, Hennepin Healthcare, Horizon Public Health, Indigenous Peoples Task Force, Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative, Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, Medica, Meeker McLeod Sibley Community Health Services, MHA – Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians, Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers, Minnesota Cancer Alliance, Minnesota Council of Health Plans, Minnesota Dental Association, Minnesota Medical Association, Minnesota Public Health Association, Minnesota Society for Public Health Education, Minnesota Youth Council, MNAAP – Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Mowery Communications, LLC, NAMI Minnesota, NorthPoint Health & Wellness, Olmsted Medical Center, Parents Against Vaping e-cigarettes, PartnerSHIP 4 Health, Perham Health, Public Health Law Center, Rainbow Health, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, Steele County Public Health, Tobacco-Free Alliance, UCare, WellShare International, Winona County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention.

Note: Tobacco in this release refers specifically to the use of manufactured, commercial tobacco products, and not to the sacred, medicinal and traditional use of tobacco by American Indians and other groups.