Tobacco Use in MN

Leading the Nation

• For more than 50 years, Minnesota has been a national leader in tobacco control activities.
• Minnesota SimSmoke Model joins the scientific evidence that proves tobacco policies help adults quit smoking and discourages kids from starting.

Economic Costs

• Annually, smoking costs Minnesota nearly $3 billion in health care costs. 
• The tobacco industry spends an estimated $157 million a year to market its products in Minnesota. 
• The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in Minnesota is $5.58 – while each pack smoked in Minnesota costs an estimated $8.85 in medical expenses and lost productivity. 

Emotional Costs

• Whether it’s family, friends, coworkers or neighbors – maybe even the person who means the most – tobacco use leads to over 5,100 deaths in Minnesota a year. 
• In Minnesota, 580,000 moms, dads, sons, daughters, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles continue to smoke. 
• Children of smokers are almost twice as likely to smoke as children of nonsmokers.

Health Costs

• Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
• Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general.
• Smoking accounts for an estimated 443,000 deaths each year in the U.S. – that’s nearly one of every five deaths. 
• 5,100 MN adults die each year from smoking.
• Smoking kills more people than alcohol, murders, car crashes, AIDS, illegal drugs, and suicide COMBINED.

Smoking Rates by County

• State of MN – 14.4% Smokers
• Stearns Co. – 14%
• Benton Co. – 15%
• Todd Co. – 15%
• Crow Wing – 17%
• Sherburne – 24%
• Morrison – 21%