Reducing the Burden of Menthol and Flavored Commercial Tobacco Products through Policy Change Grant

The Minnesota Department of Health seeks proposals to implement policies banning the sale of menthol and flavored tobacco products. This initiative aims to prevent youth initiation, encourage adult cessation, and promote health equity by addressing disparities in tobacco-related health issues. By increasing local and Tribal regulations, the project supports the goals of the CDC's Tobacco Control Program, which focuses on protecting public health and reducing tobacco use across Minnesota.

Reducing the Burden of Menthol and Flavored Commercial Tobacco Products through Policy Change
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) requests proposals to advance local and Tribal policies prohibiting the sale of flavored commercial tobacco products, including menthol, to prevent initiation among young people, promote cessation among adults, and advance health equity by reducing commercial tobacco-related health disparities.
Commercial tobacco products are tobacco products manufactured and sold by the tobacco industry, like cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, and chew. Commercial tobacco is different from traditional or sacred tobacco, also known as Caŋsasa, Asemaa, or Kinnikinnick, and which are used by American Indian communities for sacred purposes.1
Increasing the number of local or Tribal policies that prohibit the sale of all flavored commercial tobacco products and increasing the number of Minnesotans living in communities with flavored commercial tobacco policies will improve public health and reduce the burden of commercial tobacco use in Minnesota.
This work aligns with the goals of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National and State Tobacco Control Program, which are to:
Prevent initiation of commercial tobacco use among youth and young adults.Eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke.Promote quitting of commercial tobacco use among adults and youth.
Advance health equity by identifying and eliminating commercial tobacco product-related inequities and disparities.