WHAT WE DO
The Minnesota Smoke-Free Coalition serves many roles as a leader in the fight against tobacco use in Minnesota.  We:

• Inform organizations, parents, policy makers, and the general public about the issues surrounding tobacco use.
• Serve as a communication and media center to keep tobacco control a top issue among the public and policy makers.
• Support the involvement of the health community in the legislative process.
• Help develop public policy that addresses tobacco reduction.
• Advocate at the state, federal, and grassroots level.

HOW WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The Coalition has been instrumental in the passage of numerous landmark laws and ordinances that protect Minnesotans’ health.  Specifically, Coalition members have persuaded policymakers to adopt state laws that:

• Made schools tobacco-free.
• Prohibited smoking in day care centers, hospitals and most health care facilities.
• Reduced illegal sales of tobacco to kids.
• Prohibited the free distribution of tobacco products.
• Increased excise taxes and fees on tobacco products.
• Allocated state funds to tobacco prevention programs, including the first major funding for nonsmoking education campaigns in schools, communities and statewide.
• Created the Tobacco Prevention and Local Public Health Endowment with funds from the settlement of the state lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

The Coalition provided technical assistance and grants to help Minnesota health care facilities to become smoke-free. The Coalition created an anti-smoking educational unit for kindergarteners and helped persuade airlines to prohibit smoking on flights including Northwest Airlines. The Coalition provided early awareness-raising of the value of smoking cessation programs and helped keep smoking out of public sports venues. The Coalition also encouraged pharmacies to cease selling tobacco and encouraged communities to prohibit the sales of tobacco from vending machines to reduce youth access to tobacco.