3 Bipartisan Bills Aim To Curb Minnesota's Tobacco Use
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A plan to fight tobacco addiction for Minnesotans, especially youth, has been bought up by a bipartisan group of legislators.
According to Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation, three bills are being presented to help strengthen Minnesota with regard to tobacco use. The bills would respectively strengthen Minnesota's air law, provide help to Minnesotans to quit smoking and raise the minimum tobacco age to 21.
Molly Moilanen, vice president at Clearway Minnesota and co-chair for Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation, said she wants to make sure that kids do not become addicted to nicotine and adults have the support they need to quit.
"Minnesotans agree that we can do more to tackle tobacco and nicotine addiction and we're glad to see legislators from across Minnesota stand up for our kids and our health. These three bills offer a common-sense approach to strengthening our clean indoor air law, preventing youth tobacco addiction by raising the sale age to 21, and ensuring every Minnesota resident can access quit-smoking help," Moilanen said.
Tobacco is one of the leading causes of preventable death and disease for Minnesotans, which the organization claims costs $7 billion annually and takes more than 6,300 lives in the state every year.
The organization says one in five young adults, ages 18 to 24, are showing increasing rates of using e-cigarettes. Rep. Laurie Halverson (DFL-Eagan), chief author on the Clean Indoor Air Bill, wants to ensure that Minnesotans take the vital steps to ending their tobacco addiction.