Press Releases

Teen Hospitalizations Reinforce Urgent Need for Action on Youth Nicotine Addiction

State, Communities Should Pursue Comprehensive Prevention Strategies

MINNEAPOLIS (8/14/19) – Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation today called for urgent action on youth nicotine addiction, following the hospitalization of four teens for acute lung injury that could be tied to vaping e-cigarettes. 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 urges communities and the state to adopt bold, comprehensive measures to combat the teen nicotine epidemic.

The Minnesota Department of Health yesterday issued a public health advisory following four confirmed cases of acute lung injury at Children’s Minnesota. Similar cases were recently reported in Illinois and Wisconsin.

To reduce youth smoking and nicotine addiction, Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation supports increasing tobacco prices, raising the tobacco sale age to 21, limiting access to all flavored tobacco products and providing adequate funding for proven tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

“We hope these incidents serve as a wake-up call to all Minnesotans, especially lawmakers who have the power to take bold action to protect kids,” said Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Far too many Minnesota teens and young adults are using dangerous and highly addictive e-cigarettes. These devices put youth at risk for health problems and a lifetime of addiction. Raising the tobacco age to 21, investing in tobacco prevention and quit-smoking programs, restricting access to flavored tobacco products and raising the price of tobacco are all proven strategies to tackle youth addiction.”

JUUL and other popular e-cigarette brands contain high levels of nicotine, which harms the adolescent brain and may prime young brains for addiction. After years of youth-focused marketing, JUUL and other e-cigarettes have exploded in popularity among youth, disrupting decades of progress to reduce youth tobacco use. The most recent 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey found the first increase in youth tobacco use in a generation, with one in five Minnesota high-schoolers vaping e-cigarettes and 40 percent having tried them. Nationally, the U.S. Surgeon General has declared teen nicotine addiction an epidemic due to soaring e-cigarette use.

These troubling trends come at a time when funds for tobacco prevention programs are about to plummet in Minnesota. The recent How Do You Measure Up? report released by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network highlights the urgent need for Minnesota to invest in tobacco prevention programs. ClearWay Minnesota, which will sunset by 2022, currently funds two-thirds of the state’s spending on tobacco prevention ($11.8 million out of $17.3 million total). ClearWay Minnesota was created as a 25-year limited-life organization with a portion of the state’s tobacco settlement. After ClearWay Minnesota closes its doors, the state will fall into the red zone for tobacco prevention spending, unless the state dedicates more funding to that effort. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Minnesota invest nearly $53 million in tobacco prevention and control efforts each year.

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation is committed to working at the state and local levels to combat rising youth tobacco use. To date, 40 Minnesota cities and counties have raised their tobacco age to 21 – a policy the coalition would like to see pass statewide. Twelve Minnesota communities have restricted the sale of flavored tobacco products, with nine of those communities restricting the sale of all flavors, including menthol tobacco products.

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

State and federal health officials are alarmed by surging youth nicotine use

• Minnesota Department of Health Advisory: Severe Acute Lung Disease Among Youth Who Report Vaping
• Then-FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb stated that “e-cigarette use among youth has hit epidemic proportions.”
• The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on E-Cigarette Use Among Youth states: “The recent surge in e-cigarette use among youth, which has been fueled by new types of e-cigarettes that have recently entered the market, is a cause for great concern. We must take action now to protect the health of our nation’s young people.”

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.

Minnesota Adult E-Cigarette Use

• The use of e-cigarettes by adults aged 18-24 nearly doubled from 2014 (12.8 percent) to 2018 (21.9 percent). Source: 2018 Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey

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.