(Minneapolis, MN) February 25, 2020 – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation today released findings from a recent survey of Minnesota voters on tobacco issues. The poll found overwhelming public support for tobacco prevention measures including Tobacco 21, prohibiting flavored tobacco products, clean air for kids in cars, tobacco prevention funding and tobacco taxes. The wide-ranging support crossed political divides and was high in all demographics and regions of the state.
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. In the 2020 Legislative Session, the coalition encourages lawmakers to take a bold and comprehensive approach to address tobacco’s harm. The coalition is united behind four major goals that reduce youth smoking and nicotine addiction, including increasing tobacco prices, raising the tobacco sale age to 21, prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products and investing in tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
“Minnesotans are united behind policies that protect our kids from tobacco addiction,” said Janelle Waldock, Senior Director of Policy, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “Adopting Tobacco 21, ending the sale of all flavored tobacco products, and protecting kids from secondhand smoke in cars are overwhelmingly supported by Minnesota voters. Let’s get these bills passed as part of a comprehensive approach to putting the health of our kids above tobacco industry profits.”
The results come from a survey administered by the Morris Leatherman Company between January 20 and February 7, to 800 randomly selected adult residents in the Minnesota. Blue Cross and Blue Shield paid for tobacco prevention survey questions that were included in the wide-ranging survey.
The poll found:
Source: 2020 Statewide Tobacco Survey (PDF)
“Minnesota residents are sending a loud and clear message that they want our state to take action to reverse the youth tobacco epidemic,” added Molly Moilanen, Vice President at ClearWay MinnesotaSM and Co-Chair of Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation. “There is no silver bullet to this health crisis – and thankfully Minnesotans agree that we should step up our leadership to combat Big Tobacco’s gains.”
On Wednesday, lawmakers will hear three of these bills aimed at preventing youth tobacco addiction. The House Health and Human Services Policy Committee is hearing the Kids in Cars bill (HF3072) and the bill to end flavored tobacco sales in Minnesota (HF3032). The Senate Judiciary Committee will also hear the bill to adopt Tobacco 21 in Minnesota (SF463). Members of the Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation coalition will testify in support of these bills.
Minnesota continues to face a youth tobacco epidemic. While youth cigarette smoking is at historic lows, rising e-cigarette rates have erased nearly two decades of progress to reduce youth tobacco use. In 2019, more than a quarter of Minnesota 11th-graders and more than one in 10 8th-graders reported vaping. Schools and communities are facing this major health crisis fueled by JUUL and other Big Tobacco companies.
Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation 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. The coalition also supports protecting youth from secondhand smoke and e-cigarette aerosol.
The poll also found strong support for these commonsense public health policies to reduce tobacco’s harms:
View the poll section and results (PDF)
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota funded this portion of the poll as part of their ongoing commitment to improve health and advance health equity within communities throughout Minnesota. Blue Cross believes that all people, regardless of race, income, zip code or other factors, should have opportunities to live the healthiest lives possible. Advocating for tobacco control efforts and addressing barriers to good health has been a fundamental part of its work, and it will remain at the forefront of the organization’s efforts. As part of that commitment, Blue Cross co-leads Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation.
More info:
Findings from the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey:
Percent of students who vaped e-cigarettes in past 30 days
The 2017 Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey (PDF) had more detailed questions on tobacco use, and found:
Poll methodology
The study contains the results of a survey administered to 800 randomly selected adult residents in the State of Minnesota by the Morris Leatherman Company. Professional interviewers conducted the survey by telephone between January 20th and February 7th, 2020. The typical respondent took twenty-four minutes to complete the questionnaire. Cellphone only households with 42% of the sample; landline only households with 10% of the sample; with the remaining 48% have both cellphones and landlines. The results of the study are projectable to all adult residents in Minnesota to within ± 3.5 % in 95 out of 100 cases.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
For more than 90 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (bluecrossmn.com) has supported the health, wellbeing and peace of mind of our members by striving to ensure equitable access to high quality care at an affordable price. We are on a mission to inspire change, transform care and improve health for the people and communities we serve by reinventing both ourselves and the broader system. Our more than 2.5 million members can be found in every Minnesota county, all 50 states and on four continents. As a proud nonprofit organization, we believe working to advance wellness for all Minnesotans is the greatest investment we can make. Our goal is nothing less than for everyone to be able to achieve their full health potential, regardless of race or other socially defined circumstances. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which serves more than 107 million members across the U.S.
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: The African American Leadership Forum, Allina Health, Allina Health | Aetna, 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 Development Corporation, Becker County Energized, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation, Cancer Legal Care, CentraCare, Children’s Defense Fund-MN, Children’s Minnesota, ClearWay MinnesotaSM, Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio – CLUES, Dodge County Public Health, Education Minnesota, Essentia Health, Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, A Healthier Southwest, HealthPartners, Hennepin Healthcare, Horizon Public Health, Indigenous Peoples Task Force, ISAIAH, JustUs Health, LAAMPP Alumni, Lake Region Healthcare, Local Public Health Association of Minnesota, LPCFC – Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative, March of Dimes, Mayo Clinic, Medica, Meeker McLeod Sibley Community Health Services, Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians, Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers, Minnesota Cancer Alliance, Minnesota Council of Health Plans, MHA – Minnesota Hospital Association, Minnesota Medical Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota Oral Health Coalition, Minnesota Public Health Association, MNAAP – Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, ModelCities, NAMI Minnesota, North Memorial Health, NorthPoint Health & Wellness, Olmsted Medical Center, Open Cities Health Center, PartnerSHIP 4 Health, Perham Health & Living, Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, ShiftMN, 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.