Shifting Tides: Minnesota Tobacco Politics
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
UCSF Tobacco Control Policy Making: United States Title Shifting Tides: Minnesota Tobacco Politics Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1wh17656 Authors Tsoukalas, Theodore H., Ph.D. Ibrahim, Jennifer K., Ph.D. Glantz, Stanton A., Ph.D. Publication Date 2003-03-01 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Shifting Tides: Minnesota Tobacco Politics Theodore H. Tsoukalas Ph.D. Jennifer K. Ibrahim Ph.D. Stanton A. Glantz Ph.D. Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education Institute for Health Policy Studies School of Medicine University of California, San Francisco San Francisco CA 94118 March 2003 Shifting Tides: Minnesota Tobacco Politics Theodore H. Tsoukalas Ph.D. Jennifer K. Ibrahim Ph.D. Stanton A. Glantz Ph.D. Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education Institute for Health Policy Studies School of Medicine University of California, San Francisco San Francisco CA 94118 March 2003 Supported in part by National Cancer Institute Grant. Copyright 2003 by T.H. Tsoukalas, J.K. Ibrahim and S.A. Glantz. Permission is granted to reproduce this report for nonprofit purposes designed to promote the public health, so long as this report is credited. This report is available on the World Wide Web at http://repositories.cdlib.org/ctcre/tcpmus/MN2003/. This report is one of a series of reports that analyze tobacco industry campaign contributions, lobbying, and other political activity in California and other states. The other reports are available on the World Wide Web at http://repositories.cdlib.org/ctcre/. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................1 Chapter 2: Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act ......................................6 The Evolution of Minnesota’s First Tobacco Control Policies .....................6 Implementing the Clean Indoor Air Act .....................................10 Initial Response from the Tobacco Industry ..................................12 Amendments to the 1975 Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act ......................13 Containing Minnesota ...................................................15 Conclusion............................................................15 Chapter 3: The Minnesota Plan for Nonsmoking and Health ........................17 The Tobacco Industry’s Response to the Creation of the Minnesota Plan ...........18 Activities by the Tobacco Industry to Combat the Goals of the Minnesota Plan ......22 The Final Bill Emerges as the Omnibus Act ..................................29 The Health Advocates’ Response ..........................................30 Lessons Learned from the Tobacco Industry’s Response to the Minnesota Plan ......31 Conclusion............................................................33 Chapter 4: The First Large State Tobacco Control Campaign in the United States .....37 The Origins of the Campaign..............................................37 The Media Campaign During the 1985-1986 Biennium .........................39 The Media Campaign During the 1987-1988 Biennium .........................41 The Media Campaign During the 1988-89 Biennium ..........................44 1991 Media Campaign ...................................................44 Effectiveness of the Anti-Smoking Media Campaign ..........................46 The Tobacco Industry’s Long-Term Tactics to Destroy the First Media Campaign ....46 The Tobacco Industry’s Success: The First Tobacco Control Budget Cuts ..........48 Elimination of the Tobacco Control Program by Governor Carlson ...............48 The Health Advocates’ Failure to Respond ...................................49 Conclusion............................................................49 Chapter 5: Tobacco Industry’s Attack on the Minnesota ASSIST Program ...........53 Minnesota Grocers Association Campaign against ASSIST......................56 Outcome of Tobacco Industry’s Complaints Against the Minnesota ASSIST Project . 57 Health Advocates Response ...............................................59 Conclusion............................................................60 Chapter 6: Youth Access Legislation ............................................64 1994 Youth Access Legislative Developments ................................64 1995 Youth Access Legislative Developments ...............................65 1996 Youth Access Legislative Developments ................................67 1997 Youth Access Legislative Developments ................................69 The Health Advocates and the 1997 Youth Access Fight .......................73 ii Chapter 7: The Minnesota Tobacco Trial: Finding the Needle in the Haystack .........79 Minnesota Suit is Filed ..................................................80 Tobacco Politics in an Election Year ........................................81 Minnesota Declines the National Settlement ..................................82 The Minnesota Tobacco Settlement ........................................83 Chapter 8: The Minnesota Tobacco Settlement ...................................86 The Minnesota State Tobacco Settlement ....................................86 Allocating the State’s Share of the Settlement ................................88 Creation and Funding of New Tobacco Control Programs: The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Funds ................................................90 Administration of New Tobacco Control Programs ............................95 The Target Market Campaign .............................................97 The Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco (MPAAT) ................99 MPAAT Funding ......................................................103 MPAAT Program Areas ................................................104 The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tobacco Settlement .............................105 Conclusion...........................................................107 Chapter 9: Local Tobacco Control and Clean Indoor Air Legislation in Minnesota ....112 Moose Lake..........................................................114 Duluth ..............................................................114 Duluth Ordinance Summary and Conclusions................................124 Cloquet ..............................................................126 Olmsted/Rochester County ..............................................126 Little Falls ...........................................................128 Conclusion...........................................................129 Chapter 10: A New Series of Attacks ...........................................134 The Minneapolis Star-Tribune Attack on MPAAT............................134 The Minnesota Attorney General’s Attack on MPAAT ........................136 Repeating History .....................................................136 The Attorney General’s Motion...........................................137 Health Advocates’ Response .............................................139 The Ramsey County Court Ruling ........................................140 The 2002 Endowments Legislative Fight ...................................144 Tobacco Control Funding in 2003 .........................................145 Chapter 11: Lessons Learned .................................................151 The Tobacco Industry’s Power and Tactics ..................................151 The Tobacco Control Advocates Potential for Power ..........................152 Maintain Support and Accountability Among Elected Officials ..................153 The Need for a Lasting Tobacco Control Infrastructure Independent of Government .......................................154 iii Chapter 1: Introduction Minnesota was a pioneer in the tobacco control movement in the United States. Minnesota enjoyed early success with the passage of the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act in 1975 which created nonsmoking sections in public places, including workplaces and restaurants throughout the state. While modest by 2003 standards, this act represented a major step forward at the time. It was enacted without any overt opposition from the tobacco industry (1, 2), something that would never happen again. The tobacco industry was caught off-guard with the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act. However, by the late 1970s, individuals within the tobacco industry were working hard to contain the tobacco control effort in Minnesota. When the Minnesota Plan for Nonsmoking and Health was released in 1984 by the Department of Health’s Technical Advisory Committee on Nonsmoking and Health (3), the tobacco industry was better prepared to respond. The tobacco industry called this plan a “revolutionary attack on our industry” (4) and quickly moved to prevent its successful implementation. The tobacco industry built the support of allies and created front groups whom it would call upon in future tobacco control altercations (5). In 1986, the Minnesota Department of Health kicked off the first large state-funded anti- smoking program, including the first major paid media campaign, in the nation (6). Within two years of the inception of the media campaign, the tobacco industry stepped up its campaign contributions and lobbying budget, and worked hard to convince state policy makers to eliminate this program. The tobacco industry also recruited support from new allies such as the Minnesota Grocers Association and the Teamsters Union (7). Ultimately, and despite the fact that the program succeeded at its stated goal of reducing smoking prevalence, Governor Arne Carlson eliminated the media campaign in 1993, claiming