ClearWay Minnesota is proud to release our 2018 Annual Report, commemorating 20 years of our work to reduce tobacco’s harm in Minnesota. The report highlights our history of activities in areas of cessation, marketing and communications, research, public affairs, and community development. These highlights include:

• Results of two decades of tobacco control work in Minnesota, including smoking declines, lives and money saved, and Minnesotans making their homes smoke-free;
• 175,000 Minnesota tobacco users getting free help to quit through QUITPLAN Services;
• Award-winning advertising campaigns;
• $32 million in research grants and contracts given to Minnesota researchers;
• Policies to protect youth from the tobacco industry passed at the state and local levels;
• Partnerships with American Indian Nations and diverse communities; and
• Reflections from our outgoing Board Chair.

Also included are a list of Board Members since our inception and statements of our financial position and activities for Fiscal Year 2018.

20th Anniversary Annual Report

This week, ClearWay Minnesota’s Board of Directors will celebrate our nonprofit tobacco control organization’s 20^th anniversary. Founded with the state’s tobacco settlement, we have spent the past 20 years using proven science and innovative programs to reduce the burden caused by smoking and nicotine addiction in our state.

“The dramatic decrease in smoking in recent decades is one of the greatest public health accomplishments in Minnesota history,” said Laurie Lafontaine, ClearWay Minnesota’s Board Chair. “ClearWay Minnesota has been at the center of a movement to help smokers quit and stop kids from ever starting.”

Today, smoking rates among Minnesota adults and youth are at all-time lows. The anniversary also follows a new study showing other results of our work since the settlement. Conducted by HealthPartners Institute, the study found activities by ClearWay Minnesota and other health organizations have prevented thousands of Minnesota deaths, prevented tens of thousands of hospitalizations from smoking-related diseases, and saved more than $5 billion in excess health care costs and lost worker productivity.

Founded in 1998, ClearWay Minnesota was created with 3 percent ($202 million) of the settlement Minnesota received from the cigarette companies following a long legal battle. National and state leaders and health experts, including Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler, Minnesota Attorney General Skip Humphrey and Mayo Clinic’s Dr. Richard Hurt, helped create a plan to administer ClearWay Minnesota as an independent nonprofit with a 25-year lifespan.

Over the course of the past two decades, we have grown to be among the most comprehensive tobacco control organizations in the country. Its work encompasses cessation, marketing and communications, research, public affairs and community development activities.

Highlights of ClearWay Minnesota’s work include:

• QUITPLAN® Services, a free, cutting-edge program that’s given quitting help to 175,000 Minnesotans;
• Leadership of a health coalition that’s helped pass major local and statewide policies like Tobacco 21, flavored tobacco restrictions, cigarette price increases and the Freedom to Breathe Act;
• $30 million in grants given to scientists studying tobacco issues and exploring new ways to eliminate its harms;
• Innovative research projects like the Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey, the best source of data about smoking and tobacco use in the state;
• Investments in the communities most affected by smoking’s harms, such as partnerships with tribes working to restore traditional tobacco practices and reduce commercial tobacco abuse; and
• Major advertising campaigns that have educated about tobacco’s harms and encouraged Minnesota smokers to seek quitting help.

“These accomplishments show what happens when proven strategies are applied to a critical health issue like smoking,” said David Willoughby, ClearWay Minnesota’s Chief Executive Officer since 2000. “QUITPLAN Services are scheduled to end in 2020, with ClearWay Minnesota closing our doors a few years later. With the tobacco industry mastering new ways to attract kids and addict them to nicotine, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Unless the state dedicates new funding to preventing and fighting nicotine addiction, the health of our state and the future of our kids will both suffer.”

He added, “Our elected officials must continue to make a difference in the lives of our people, helping them live longer and save money, both for themselves and taxpayers. The progress our state has made in reducing tobacco’s harm must continue.”

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation, a coalition of more than 60 organizations working to reduce youth tobacco use, today issued a statement on the news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may soon ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarette pods in gas stations and convenience stores.

Molly Moilanen, Director of Public Affairs at ClearWay Minnesota and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation, said, “The FDA can and should use its full legal authority without delay in regulating tobacco products – especially in light of what they are rightly calling a youth e-cigarette epidemic.”

Moilanen continued, “We look forward to seeing the full details of the FDA’s plan and hope they will move quickly and decisively. Removing flavored e-cigarette pods, which are extremely popular among teens, from places youth frequent is a welcome first step toward curbing youth addiction. We also urge the FDA to take swift action to restrict menthol tobacco products, which would help reduce tobacco-related disparities.”

She added, “We urge policy-makers across Minnesota to lead the way with strong local and statewide policies that protect our youth from lifetime tobacco addiction – including raising the tobacco age to 21, restricting the sale of all flavored tobacco products, adding e-cigarettes to clean indoor air policies and investing in proven tobacco prevention and cessation programs.”

Background:

In addition to federal action, state and local governments can also combat commercial tobacco use. To date, 15 Minnesota cities have passed Tobacco 21 policies, nine have passed tobacco flavor restrictions and five have passed menthol restrictions.

The tobacco industry blatantly continues to use menthol, candy and fruit flavors to attract the next generation of smokers. In 2009, the FDA banned the use of most flavoring agents, except menthol, in cigarettes. However, that ban does not include other tobacco products such as little cigars and cigarillos, or emerging products like e-cigarettes. Internal documents from the tobacco industry show that tobacco companies know that young people are attracted to flavors in tobacco products. Research also has found that most kids start smoking by using flavored tobacco products.

Menthol tobacco flavoring makes it easier for kids to start smoking and harder for adults to quit. The tobacco industry has a long history of targeting youth, African Americans, women and LGBTQ communities with menthol tobacco marketing. Nationally, 88 percent of African American smokers smoke menthols, compared to 29 percent of white smokers.

Flavored tobacco products have helped contribute to the first increase in youth tobacco use in 17 years in Minnesota. The 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than 60 percent of youth tobacco users reported using flavored products in the past 30 days, and almost 40 percent of Minnesota high-school students have tried e-cigarettes, which come in candy and other kid-friendly flavors.

Flavored products mask the harshness of tobacco, but are just as addictive and dangerous as other products. Nicotine damages the developing adolescent brain whether it’s delivered in a cigarette, cigarillo, e-cigarette or other tobacco product. In a recent health advisory, the Minnesota Department of Health called youth nicotine addiction a major health concern because it harms the adolescent brain and primes youth for addiction to cigarettes and other substances.

The Minnesota Legislature should take additional steps to reverse the alarming trend of youth tobacco use, such as increasing the tobacco age and restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products statewide. Since nearly all addicted tobacco users started before they turn 21, raising the tobacco sale age to 21 would curb addiction and keep tobacco products out of schools. Restricting the sale of kid-friendly flavored tobacco products to adult-only stores and including e-cigarettes in smoke-free air laws would also help curb the threat of youth addiction.

Finally, Minnesota should invest in robust tobacco cessation and prevention efforts that stop smoking before it starts. In 2017, Minnesota collected over $840 million in tobacco taxes and ongoing tobacco settlement payments. Less than 1 percent of these funds was spent on tobacco prevention, and none was dedicated to quit-smoking services.

Statement from Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation:

As students across Minnesota go back to school, Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation warns that Big Tobacco may be in their backpacks. The coalition of more than 60 organizations working to reduce youth tobacco use is sending a warning to parents, educators and students and urging lawmakers to do more to protect youth.

“Today’s tobacco products are designed by the industry to look like everyday items like candy and school supplies,” said Molly Moilanen, Director of Public Affairs at ClearWay Minnesota^SM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Through stealthy designs, high nicotine content, aggressive advertising and candy flavors, this generation of tobacco products threatens our progress to reduce teen smoking.”

The Minnesota Department of Health today issued a new advisory on youth nicotine addiction, calling it a “major health concern.” The advisory describes the dangers of nicotine addiction to young brains, and details the steps that parents, educators and school staff, health care providers and policymakers can take to reduce nicotine addiction. Resources are available on their page:health.mn.gov/ecigarettes. In April, the Minnesota Commissioners of Health and Education issued a joint letter to school administrators alerting them to an uptick in student nicotine use.

Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation released a graphic that displays some tobacco products that parents may not recognize, including e-cigarettes, flavored cigars and snus. The goal is to raise awareness of these products before addiction sets in.

More than 26 percent of high-school students reported using tobacco products in the 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey. The high-school tobacco use rate increased for the first time since the survey began in 2000, and is up 7 percent since 2014.

This disturbing increase is driven by a sharp rise in e-cigarette use, which is up 50 percent since 2014. This dramatic surge is a result of Big Tobacco’s aggressive marketing to youth, which includes prolific advertising, trendy devices, easy access to products and kid-friendly flavors.

The Legislature should take additional steps to reverse this alarming trend, such as increasing the tobacco age and restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products. Since nearly all addicted tobacco users started before they turn 21, raising the tobacco sale age to 21 would curb addiction and keep tobacco products out of schools. Restricting the sale of kid-friendly flavored tobacco products to adult-only stores and including e-cigarettes in smoke-free air laws would also help curb the threat of youth addiction. Minnesota also should invest in robust tobacco prevention efforts that stop smoking before it starts. In 2017, Minnesota collected over $840 million in tobacco taxes and ongoing tobacco settlement payments. Less than 1 percent of these funds was spent on tobacco prevention, and none was dedicated to funding quit-smoking services.

“Nicotine is highly addictive and can harm the adolescent brain no matter how it’s delivered,” Moilanen added. “Some of these popular devices are delivering a massive amount of nicotine. Youth often don’t realize or underestimate the amount of nicotine in these products, and are becoming hooked at a young age. As Minnesota students go back to school, we urge elected leaders to step up and do more to protect youth.”

Key Facts:

Nicotine is addictive and can harm the adolescent brain. Source: U.S. Surgeon General

More than $110 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).

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

67 percent: of high-school tobacco users and nearly 60 percent of middle-school tobacco users reported using flavored products.

11 percent: of high-school students reported smoking cigars or cigarillos, a 30 percent increase (from 8 percent in 2014).

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 from 13 percent in 2014.

88 percent of high school and middle school students: reported they have seen advertisements promoting e-cigarettes.

Resources:

Minnesota Department of Health Nicotine Addiction Advisory

 

CDC Feature: “Keep Kids E-Cigarette Free”