This past month saw the release of a new report on the harms caused by tobacco use in Minnesota. Compiled by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Health Care Costs and Smoking in Minnesota: The Bottom Line estimates how many lives are lost to smoking-related disease in our state, and calculates excess medical expenses caused by smoking. The report provides the first new data on smoking’s costs to our state since 2010.

The report finds that annually, 6,312 Minnesota deaths are attributable to smoking, and that excess medical costs to treat smoking-related disease amount to $3.19 billion per year in the state.

Blue Cross leaders said that while smoking rates are declining, the costs of smoking remain too high. Vice President of Community Health and Health Equity Janelle Waldock pointed out that Minnesota’s adult smoking rate is at 14 percent, but noted that “many communities are at greater risk for premature death and disease, both through the direct impacts of smoking, as well as exposure to secondhand smoke.” In Minnesota, she said, smoking rates are particularly high among American Indians (59 percent) and Somalis (24 percent).

The Blue Cross report was released the same week as an annual “Report Card” from the American Lung Association assessing Minnesota’s commitment to reducing tobacco’s harm. While Minnesota received high marks in some categories, our overall grades were mixed. The state received As for the Freedom to Breathe Act and for our free QUITPLAN® Services, as well as a B for our tobacco taxes. But we also received two Fs: one for not having a Tobacco 21 law, and one for failing to fund tobacco prevention at CDC-recommended levels.

The Lung Association’s Report Card called on Minnesota to make the following four activities priorities for the future:

• Keeping tobacco prices high;
• Limiting access to menthol and other flavored tobacco products;
• Raising the age of sale for tobacco products to 21; and
• Securing funding for proven tobacco prevention strategies.

ClearWay Minnesota is working to achieve all four of these goals as part of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation, a coalition of health organizations organizing to prevent youth smoking.

While Minnesota continues to make progress in reducing smoking, a new ad campaign reminds Minnesotans that we can and should do more to prevent kids from becoming addicted to tobacco. Today we are launching an ad campaign called Stop the Start that hopes to end smoking for good.

The modern tobacco industry’s use of social media, coupons, concert promotions and other tactics aimed at youth are explored in a new television ad, called “Cowboy Pop Star.” Another new spot, “Train,” highlights why tobacco companies work to attract new smokers, because more than half of all smokers die from smoking-related diseases. The new TV spots will air statewide along with other elements of the campaign, including a new website and print, radio, online and transit ads.

“The tobacco industry continues to aggressively market its products to ‘replacement smokers,’ to guarantee their profits,” said our CEO, David Willoughby. “Our hope is this campaign will spur Minnesotans to look closely at the tobacco industry’s tactics and support policies proven to prevent youth smoking. Nearly all smokers start by age 18, but if we can prevent teens and youth from starting, smoking stops.”

The new campaign directs viewers to a new website, www.stopthestartmn.org, which provides facts about tobacco industry marketing tactics, and highlights areas where progress has been made and resources for people who want to get involved.

“ClearWay Minnesota has a history of launching bold campaigns that generate emotion and discussion,” said Molly Hull, Director of Brand Development at Clarity Coverdale Fury, the Minneapolis advertising agency that created the campaign. “This campaign’s power is in the message that we can do more to prevent kids from becoming addicted. That sentiment really hits home for the majority of Minnesotans, especially those who have experienced the effects of smoking.”

You can view the new television spots below. To find out more about the campaign, visit www.stopthestartmn.org or ClearWay Minnesota’s Facebook page or YouTube channel.

 

Researchers from ClearWay Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Health this week released an article in Minnesota Medicine concluding that raising the state’s tobacco age to 21 would have important health benefits. Their calculations suggest raising the age would prevent thousands of Minnesota kids from becoming smokers.

“Two states and more than 200 cities across the country have raised the tobacco age to 21,” said our Director of Research Programs, Dr. Raymond Boyle, who coauthored the study. “The data we lay out in this article provide compelling proof that such a policy would have an enormous health benefit in Minnesota.”

The article, “Raising the Minimum Legal Sale Age for Tobacco to 21,” was published in the January-February issue of Minnesota Medicine. It is the first of its kind to flesh out the specific statewide impact that raising the tobacco age would have on the smoking behavior of adolescents and young adults.

Specifically, if Minnesota raised the legal sale age to 21:

• 25 percent fewer 15-year-olds would start smoking by the time they turn 18; and
• 15 percent fewer 18-year-olds would start smoking by the time they turn 21.

This translates into 30,000 young people not becoming smokers over the next 15 years.

“Minnesota’s comprehensive approach to tobacco prevention and treatment – including strong policies – has contributed to significantly less smoking in recent years,” said Dr. Boyle. “But this research shows that raising the tobacco age to 21 would prevent future generations of young people from starting and help to end the burden of cigarette smoking.”

Today U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released a new report highlighting health concerns about e-cigarette use by young people. An increasing number of youth in Minnesota use e-cigarettes, and although lawmakers have taken some steps to protect them from potential harms, more action is necessary.

“This report from the Surgeon General highlights what we have already seen in Minnesota: Young people are using e-cigarettes, despite potential health risks,” said Andrea Mowery, Vice President at ClearWay Minnesota. “There is no safe level of nicotine for the adolescent brain, and research shows that young people who start using e-cigarettes are more likely to experiment with other tobacco products, like cigarettes.”

The Surgeon General’s report, “E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults,” shows that:

• One in six high-school students across the country used an e-cigarette in the last month;
• Nicotine is unsafe for youth and young adults, and the use of it can lead to addiction and disruption of attention and learning; and
• Secondhand aerosol from e-cigarettes contains harmful chemicals.

Recently, the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey found that 17 percent of 11th graders use e-cigarettes – more than double the rate of conventional cigarette use.

“Minnesota has led the country in enacting youth protections,” Mowery said. “But the tobacco industry markets their products to the next generation with advertising and kid-friendly flavors. Lawmakers should take further steps to protect our kids from a lifetime of addiction to tobacco.”

Minnesota was one of the first states to make it illegal to sell e-cigarettes to minors, and half of the state’s population is protected by indoor air laws that include e-cigarettes. The tobacco industry has a long history of marketing to kids, and each of the major tobacco companies has their own a line of e-cigarettes. Lawmakers can:

• Maintain high prices on e-cigarettes, as well as on other tobacco products;
• Add e-cigarettes to smoke-free policies;
• Restrict the sale of flavored e-cigarettes to adult-only stores; and
• Restrict sales of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to those 21 years and older.