January 15, 2019 07:27 PM
A new Minnesota adult tobacco survey is out and it shows smoking rates across the state have mostly stalled.
The lead researcher in the survey says price increases and clean air laws help reduce the smoking rate.
In fact, the rate of cigarette use for young adults fell from 15.2 percent to 8.5 percent. But the use of E-cigarettes has gone up in the state. According to the survey, that same group of adults went from 12.8 percent to almost 22 percent. Most of those individuals are people who have never smoked.
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FDA to crackdown on E-cigarettes, some Minnesota cities already leading the way
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Clearway Minnesota told KSTP the survey shows how hard the fight is to curb smoking.
"It's a good reminder of what we are up against here in that tobacco use needs to remain a public health priority," said Mike Sheldon, with Clearway Minnesota. "We are dealing with an addiction and a company that still aggressively markets their product."
Clearway Minnesota has recently been lobbying cities and counties across the state to raise the tobacco-buying age to 21-years-old.
Created: January 15, 2019 07:27 PM
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