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Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation: FDA’s Intention to Prohibit Flavored E-Cigarettes a Welcome and Long-Overdue Step

MINNEAPOLIS (9/12/19) – Yesterday, President Trump and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the federal government plans to “clear the market of unauthorized, non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products”. 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, supports this step as part of a comprehensive effort to address youth tobacco addiction.

“Removing flavored e-cigarettes from the marketplace is a welcome and long-overdue step from the FDA, which for years has failed to take strong regulatory action on e-cigarettes,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “The tobacco industry has targeted our kids with stealthy, high-nicotine e-cigarettes that come in thousands of kid-friendly flavors. We join national health groups in urging the federal government to swiftly follow through on this promise and use the FDA’s full authority to strongly regulate tobacco products including prohibiting all flavors.”

In its announcement yesterday, the FDA released preliminary data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey that show “more than a quarter of high-school students were current (past 30 day) e-cigarette users in 2019 and the overwhelming majority of youth e-cigarette users cited the use of popular fruit and menthol or mint flavors.”

“Schools and communities across Minnesota are facing an epidemic of youth nicotine addiction,” Moilanen added. “While banning e-cigarette flavors is an important step, it isn’t a silver bullet. We continue to urge Minnesota lawmakers at all levels to take additional steps to protect kids, including raising the tobacco age to 21, restricting or prohibiting all flavored tobacco products, investing in tobacco prevention and quit-smoking services, and increasing the price of tobacco products.”

In Minnesota, skyrocketing teen use of e-cigarettes has led to the first increase in youth tobacco use in a generation. Recent investigations found that JUUL implemented predatory youth-focused marketing campaigns that copied many Big Tobacco tactics. Internal documents revealed JUUL targeted kids as young as eight with a sophisticated marketing program that included summer camp, school programs and hundreds of young social media influencers.

Teen tobacco use puts Minnesota’s youth at risk for health problems and lifetime addiction. Nicotine in any form harms the adolescent brain and may prime young brains for addiction to cigarettes and other substances. Recent vaping-related hospitalizations in Minnesota – including one death – continue to be investigated by state and federal health officials. These developments serve as another wake-up call that more action is needed to protect teens from harmful e-cigarettes.

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation urges lawmakers to take a comprehensive approach to the youth nicotine addiction crisis and pass bold policy measures to counter Big Tobacco’s aggressive marketing toward our kids. Coalition members will continue bold policy work at the state and local level to achieve these goals. Earlier this week, Mounds View became Minnesota’s 43^rd community to raise their tobacco age to 21, and twelve Minnesota communities have restricted the sale of flavored tobacco products to keep them out of places youth frequent. Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation will continue to advocate for a statewide Tobacco 21 policy, bold flavored tobacco policies, robust prevention funding, and increased tobacco prices.

More info: Tobacco 21 fact sheet, E-cigarette fact sheet, Flavored tobacco fact sheet, Funding fact sheet

Key Facts:

• Nicotine is addictive and can harm the adolescent brain. Source: U.S. Surgeon General 
• More than $100 million/year: how much the tobacco industry spends every year marketing and advertising their products in Minnesota. Source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
• Nearly 95 percent: of addicted adult smokers started before age 21. Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health).
• 25 percent: estimated reduction in smoking among 15-to-17-year-olds, if tobacco age is raised to 21. Source: National Academy of Medicine

Minnesota Youth Tobacco Trends – Source: 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey:

• Almost 40 percent: of high-school students have tried e-cigarettes, which come in kid-friendly flavors like gummy bear and cotton candy.
• Nearly one in five: high-school students reporting using e-cigarettes in the past month – a nearly 50 percent surge in high-school use from 13 percent in 2014.
• 88 percent of high-school and middle-school students: reported they have seen advertisements promoting e-cigarettes.

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 Breath of Hope Lung Foundation, 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.