Bill to rescue smoking cessation program advances with bipartisan support

Tobacco lawsuit settlement money may keep going toward statewide smoking cessation.

The House Health and Human Services Reform Committee approved HF3291, as amended, Thursday and re-referred it to the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee.

Rep. Dario Anselmo (R-Edina), who sponsors the bill, emphasized the serious, concrete effects of smoking cessation programs.

“It’s not some touchy-feely issue, it’s about saving lives,” Anselmo said.

Molly Moilanen, director of public affairs for ClearWay Minnesota, provided some history behind tobacco settlement money being used to provide tobacco cessation help in the state.

The initial settlement from the 1990s lawsuit between the state and tobacco companies was more than $6 billion, a relatively small portion of which funded the creation of nonprofit smoking cessation assistance under ClearWay Minnesota. However, ClearWay’s smoking cessation help is scheduled to shut down in 2020, leaving a potential gap in services. ClearWay itself is scheduled to shut down in 2022, Moilanen said.

None of the initial settlement money is left, but the state still gets ongoing fees from the settlement, which flow into the General Fund, she said. The specific amount of money going to the cessation program is undetermined.

The bill would dedicate that money to create a tobacco cessation program under the Department of Health, instead of ClearWay. The department could administer the program itself or hire a third party to do it.

Under the new program, services given to those trying to quit smoking may include phone-based counseling, referrals, written pamphlets, and free FDA-approved cessation drugs.

In a letter supporting the bill, the Minnesota Medical Association said each year more than 6,300 Minnesotans die from tobacco use and smoking creates an estimated $7 billion in health care and productivity costs.

The bill’s Senate companion is SF3006, sponsored by Sen. Carla Nelson (R-Rochester). It awaits action by the Senate Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee.