Press Releases

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation Thanks Legislature for Strong Tobacco Prevention, Cessation Policies

HHS Deal Provides Quit-Smoking Funding and Includes E-Cigarettes in Freedom to Breathe Act, Tobacco 21 Made Significant Progress 

ST PAUL (5/24/19) – Today, 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, thanked the Legislature for including two strong tobacco prevention and cessation policies in the final Health and Human Services (HHS) omnibus package. The HHS agreement includes funding for statewide quit-smoking services and a policy that strengthens the Freedom to Breathe Act by prohibiting e-cigarette use where smoking is already banned. These are critical policies aimed at addressing tobacco’s harm in Minnesota.

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation also celebrated the growing bipartisan support for Tobacco 21. Even though that policy did not make it over the finish line, it made historic progress with support from many legislators and advocates from throughout Minnesota. So far, 14 states and over 470 cities and counties across the country, including 34 in Minnesota, have passed Tobacco 21 policies.

“We are grateful that legislators made significant steps forward in Minnesota’s fight against tobacco addiction,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation will continue to advocate for bold policies from every level of government to address commercial tobacco use and the growing crisis of youth nicotine addiction.”

Despite decades of progress to lower smoking rates, 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, driven by e-cigarettes, which have high levels of nicotine and come in kid-friendly flavors. The state’s adult smoking rate is stalled and nearly 600,000 Minnesotans still smoke, with many of them struggling to quit.

Below is a summary of the key policies Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation supported this session.

Tobacco Cessation Funding

Summary: 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. Funding quit-smoking programs this year ensures Minnesota residents will have continuous access to quitting help. Minnesota had risked becoming the only state not providing such quit-smoking services, but thanks to support from legislators and the Governor, tobacco users will still have access to this lifesaving resource.

While smoking rates in Minnesota had been declining for decades, the latest Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey found adult cigarette smoking has stalled and remains at 14 percent. The HHS omnibus deal appropriates approximately $3 million per year to the Minnesota Department of Health to provide and promote tobacco cessation services to all Minnesota residents.

“Thank you to Chair Michelle Benson, Chair Tina Liebling, lead authors Sen. Carla Nelson and Rep. Alice Mann, legislative leaders and the Walz/Flanagan Administration for supporting quit-smoking services,” added Moilanen. “Helping smokers quit saves lives and money. With this investment, Minnesota retains our decades-long commitment to reducing commercial tobacco use in our state. ClearWay Minnesota is proud to have served the state for almost two decades with QUITPLAN Services and we look forward to working with the Minnesota Department of Health to ensure every Minnesotan who wants to quit tobacco has comprehensive support.”

More info: Cessation funding fact sheet

Keeping Indoor Air Clean

Summary: Research shows that aerosol from e-cigarettes is not safe and threatens the state’s clean indoor air. This concern is especially relevant since youth and young adult e-cigarette use have skyrocketed in recent years. The HHS omnibus package includes language that expands the definition of “smoking” to ensure the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act covers the use of e-cigarettes wherever smoking is prohibited. E-cigarette aerosol contains nicotine, heavy metals, formaldehyde and other carcinogens and harmful chemicals.

Minnesota will become the 14^th state to include e-cigarettes in its clean indoor air policies. Strengthening the clean air act is overwhelmingly popular. A recent poll found that 81 percent of Minnesotans support this policy. Earlier in session, the Minnesota House approved the standalone bill 100-25, and the Senate ultimately voted 53-13 to include the policy in its omnibus HHS bill.

“Thank you to lawmakers for keeping harmful e-cigarette aerosol out of our clean indoor air,” said Janelle Waldock, Vice President of Community Health and Health Equity, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Minnesotans deserve and expect clean indoor air. We are grateful to Rep. Laurie Halverson and Sen. Carla Nelson for leading on this popular, common-sense policy. Thank you to legislators from across the state for standing up for the health of Minnesotans and sending a clear message to teens that e-cigarettes are not safe.”

More info: E-cigarette fact sheet, E-cigarettes in CIAA poll fact sheet

Tobacco 21

Summary: While the Tobacco 21 policy was ultimately not included in the final HHS omnibus bill, it gained significant traction this session. A growing number of legislators from both sides of the aisle support this life-saving legislation. Prior to the 2019 session, the Tobacco 21 bill had not received a single legislative hearing. This year, it cleared committees in both chambers and was in play until the end of session.

To date, 14 states and 34 Minnesota cities and counties have adopted Tobacco 21 policies. Recent surveys show e-cigarettes and other youth-targeted tobacco products threaten decades of progress to lower youth tobacco rates. The 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey found that a surge in e-cigarette use led to the first rise in youth tobacco rates in 17 years. This increase is concerning because nicotine in any form harms the adolescent brain and may prime young brains for addiction. The U.S. Surgeon General now calls teen e-cigarette use an epidemic and has called on states to implement aggressive strategies to reduce youth e-cigarette use.

Raising the tobacco sale age to 21 will help reduce youth smoking and save lives, since 95 percent of addicted adult smokers started before age 21. The National Academy of Medicine estimates that Tobacco 21 would reduce smoking among 15-to-17-year-olds by 25 percent.

“We will continue the fight against Big Tobacco, an industry that profits off of addiction and disease,” Moilanen added. “Raising the tobacco age helps protect our kids from the ever-evolving tobacco industry and keeps highly-addictive tobacco products out of our schools. Minnesota lawmakers made great progress on Tobacco 21 this year, and we won’t give up until 100 percent of Minnesotans are covered by Tobacco 21. Thank you to lead authors Sen. Carla Nelson and Rep. Heather Edelson for championing Tobacco 21.”

More info: Tobacco 21 fact sheet

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, 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.