Community Tobacco Free Living
SHIP works collaborative with community partners to improve the health and environments of all Minnesotans, especially communities facing tobacco-related disparities and most targeted by the tobacco industry, recognizing social determinants of health and lifting up community assets.
SHIP’s strategic direction includes; preventing initiation and eliminating use of commercial tobacco and nicotine products among youth and young adults and eliminating commercial tobacco and nicotine use and secondhand smoke disparities.
Commercial Tobacco Use
Commercial tobacco use like smoking, using chewing tobacco, or vaping, kills over 6,530 Minnesotans every year and costs Minnesota $4.7 billion annually in medical costs. Commercial tobacco use is the single greatest preventable cause of death and disease in Minnesota. And while the state’s overall smoking rates are below national averages, some Minnesota communities suffer more than others from commercial tobacco-related death and disease.
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 Cansasa, Asemaa, or Kinnikinnick, and which are used by American Indian communities for sacred purposes.
The SHIP program working to reduce commercial tobacco harm by:
- Preventing initiation among young people.
- Promoting quitting and treatment.
- Eliminating secondhand exposure.
- Identifying and eliminating disparities.
Free Help to Quit
Most people who use commercial tobacco want to quit, but quitting can be hard. Commercial tobacco products contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. But there’s good news – free help is available to all Minnesotans, and people who use phone coaching and quit medications are twice as likely to quit for good.
Learn more: Get Help Quitting
Get free coaching, text and email support, and medications like nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges.
Visit quitpartnermn.com
Resources Available:
For adults: Quit PartnerTM
Free support including coaching, text and email support, and medications
For teens: My Life, My QuitTM
Free support for teens including coaching, texting, and online chat
American Indian Quitline
American Indian coaches, email and text support, and medications
Prevention and Treatment
- Evidence-based Strategies and Interventions
- Community Grant Programs
- Youth Counter-Marketing Campaigns
- Youth E-cigarette Prevention and Cessation Initiative
- Promoting Quitting and Treatment
- Tools to Address Vaping in Schools
- Smoke-Free Housing
- More prevention and treatment initiatives
Data and Reports
- Data: Local Commercial Tobacco Use Profiles
- Report: Tobacco Use Prevention: 2025 Report to the Minnesota Legislature (PDF)
Additional Resources and Information:
- Behavioral Health and Commercial Tobacco
- Commercial Tobacco Use and Your Health
- E-cigarettes and Vaping
- Flavored Commercial Tobacco Products
- Menthol Commercial Tobacco Products
- Nicotine and Nicotine Dependence
- Nicotine Pouches and Other Emerging Products
- Secondhand Smoke and Aerosol
- Traditional and Sacred Tobacco