Minnesota
Smoking is prohibited in almost all public places, public meetings, places of employment and public transportation. See the definitions of “public place,” “place of employment” and “public transportation” in the statute sections cited below for more information. Smoking is still allowed in: 1) places of employment with less than two employees; 2) by a patient or resident in a nursing home, boarding care facility, or licensed residential facility for adults under certain conditions; 3) by drivers of public transportation vehicles when the vehicle is being used for personal use as defined; 4) by subjects in scientific studies of the health effects of smoking under certain conditions; 5) by Native Americans as part of a traditional Native American spiritual or cultural ceremony; 6) in private homes, private residences and private automobiles when not in use as a place of employment as defined; 7) in hotel/motel sleeping rooms rented to one or more guests; 
in tobacco products shops as defined under specified conditions; 9) in heavy commercial vehicles as defined; 10) in farm vehicles and construction equipment as specified; 11) in or on family farms as defined; 12) in the disabled veterans rest camp in Washington County; and 13) by actors/actresses as part of a theatrical performance.
MINN. STAT. §§ 144.411 to 144.417 (2007).
Nothing in sections 144.414 to 144.417 prohibits a statutory or home rule charter city or county from enacting and enforcing more stringent measures to protect individuals from secondhand smoke. Except as specified by state law or restricted by local ordinance, smoking is permitted outside of restaurants, bars, and bingo halls.
MINN. STAT. § 144.417(4) (2007).
Smoking is prohibited in a hotel sleeping room designated as non-smoking. A person who violates this law is guilty of a petty misdemeanor, and is liable to the innkeeper for the actual costs to restore the room to its pre-violation condition and a service charge of $30. If the person does not reimburse the innkeeper within 30 days after the innkeeper mails the required notice, the innkeeper may seek a civil judgment for the cost of restoring the room to pre-violation condition, the service charge, and a civil penalty not to exceed $100.
MINN. STAT. § 327.742 (2008).
Government Buildings
Smoking is prohibited in places of employment, the definition of which includes government agencies with two or more employees.
MINN. STAT. §§ 144.411 to 144.417 (2007).
Private Workplaces
Smoking is prohibited in places of employment defined as any indoor area where two or more employees perform any type of a service for consideration of payment under any type of contractual relationship, including, but not limited to, an employment relationship with or for a private corporation, partnership, individual, or government agency. Vehicles used in whole or in part for work purposes are places of employment during hours of operation if more than one person is present. A private residence is a place of employment if the homeowner uses the area exclusively and regularly as a principal place of business and has one or more on-site employees; or the homeowner uses the area exclusively and regularly as a place to meet or deal with patients, clients, or customers in the normal course of the homeowner’s trade or business.
MINN. STAT. §§ 144.411 to 144.417 (2007).
Schools
No person shall at any time smoke or use other tobacco products in public schools. This prohibition extends to all facilities, whether owned, rented, or leased, and all vehicles that a school district owns, leases, rents, contracts for, or controls. This prohibition does not apply to the lighting of tobacco by an adult as part of a traditional Indian spiritual or cultural ceremony.
MINN. STAT. § 144.4165 (1999).
Smoking is prohibited in public places, the definition of which includes all non-public educational facilities.
MINN. STAT. §§ 144.411 to 144.417 (2007).
Child Care Centers
Smoking is prohibited in licensed day care centers and during the hours of operation in licensed family day care homes or group family day care provider homes. The proprietor of a family home or group family day care provider must disclose to parents or guardians of children cared for on the premises if the proprietor permits smoking outside of its hours of operation. Disclosure must include posting on the premises a conspicuous written notice and orally informing parents or guardians.
MINN. STAT. § 144.414(2) (2007).
Health Facilities
Smoking is prohibited in any area of a hospital, health care clinic, doctor’s office, licensed residential facility for children or other health care-related facility, except that a patient or resident in a nursing home, boarding care facility, or licensed residential facility for adults may smoke in a designated separate, enclosed room maintained in accordance with applicable state and federal laws. Smoking by patients in locked psychiatric units is also allowed under certain specified conditions.
MINN. STAT. § 144.414(3) (2007).
Restaurants
Restaurants: Smoking is prohibited in restaurants.
MINN. STAT. §§ 144.411 to 144.417 (2007).
Bars: Smoking is prohibited in public places and places of employment, the definitions of which both include bars.
MINN. STAT. §§ 144.411 to 144.417 (2007).
Penalties/Enforcement
The proprietor or other person, firm, limited liability company, corporation, or other entity that owns, leases, manages, operates, or otherwise controls the use of a public place , public transportation, place of employment, or public meeting shall make reasonable efforts to prevent smoking by posting the appropriate signs, and taking certain specified actions for persons who are smoking illegally. Any proprietor, person, or entity that owns, leases, manages, operates, or otherwise controls the use of an area, and that knowingly fails to comply with sections 144.414 to 144.417, is guilty of a petty misdemeanor. A person who smokes in an area where smoking is prohibited is also guilty of a petty misdemeanor. The state Commissioner of Health, a local board of health or any affected party may institute an action in any court with jurisdiction to enjoin repeated violations of the law. The state Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules necessary and reasonable to implement the provisions of sections 144.411 to 144.417.
MINN. STAT. §§ 144.416 & 114.417 (2007).
Cigarettes
Taxes and fees per pack of 20: $1.504
Date last changed: August 1, 2008 — from $1.49 to $1.504
Year first enacted: 1947
MINN. STAT. §§ 297F.05 (1992) & 256.9658 (2005).
Note: The “Health Impact Fee” on cigarettes was adjusted on August 1, 2008 so the effective combined cigarette tax/fee increased from $1.49 to $1.504 per pack.
The revenue from the 48 cent cigarette tax is distributed as follows: Six and a half cents of the tax is credited to the Academic Health Center Special Revenue Fund and is annually appropriated to the Board of Regents at the University of Minnesota for Academic Health Center funding at the University of Minnesota; two and a half cents is credited to the Medical Education and Research Costs Account and is annually appropriated to the Commissioner of Health for specified programs; and the remaining 39 cents goes to the general fund.
MINN. STAT. § 297F.10 (2003).
The revenue from the 75 cent “Health Impact Fee” is deposited in the Health Impact Fund and is used to refund the state for medical costs associated with tobacco use.
MINN. STAT. §§ 256.9658 & 16A.725 (2005).
A fee of 35 cents per pack is imposed upon the sale of nonsettlement cigarettes in this state. The purpose of this fee is to ensure that manufacturers of nonsettlement cigarettes pay fees to the state that are comparable to costs attributable to the use of the cigarettes; prevent manufacturers of nonsettlement cigarettes from undermining the state’s policy of discouraging underage smoking by offering nonsettlement cigarettes at prices substantially below the cigarettes of other manufacturers; and fund such other purposes as the legislature determines appropriate.
MINN. STAT. § 297F.24 (2002).
Other Tobacco Products
All other tobacco products: 70% of the wholesale sales price
MINN. STAT. §§ 297F.05 (1992) & 256.9658 (2005).
The revenue from the 35 percent tax on other tobacco products goes to the general fund.
MINN. STAT. § 297F.10 (2003).
The revenue from the 35 percent “Health Impact Fee” on other tobacco products is deposited in the Health Impact Fund and is used to refund the state for medical costs associated with tobacco use.
MINN. STAT. §§ 256.9658 & 16A.725 (2005).
Revenue Collected
$408,644,000
Compliance/Enforcement
A county or municipal licensing authority shall conduct unannounced compliance checks at least once each calendar year at each location where tobacco is sold. Compliance checks must involve minors over the age of 15, but under the age of 18, who, with the prior written consent of a parent or guardian, attempt to purchase tobacco under the direct supervision of a law enforcement officer or an employee of the licensing authority.
MINN. STAT. § 461.12 (2001).
Penalties for Sales to Minors
Anyone who sells tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years is guilty of a misdemeanor for the first violation, and a gross misdemeanor for subsequent violations within five years. It is an affirmative defense to the charge of selling tobacco to a minor, if the person relied in good faith upon specified proof of age. Whoever furnishes tobacco or tobacco-related devices to a minor is guilty of a misdemeanor for the first violation and a gross misdemeanor for any subsequent violation. However, an Indian may furnish tobacco to an Indian minor as part of a traditional Indian spiritual or cultural ceremony.
MINN. STAT. § 609.685 (2000).
If a municipal licensee or employee of a municipal licensee sells tobacco to a minor the licensee shall be charged an administrative penalty of $75. A second violation within 24 months after the initial violation is subject to an administrative penalty of $200. A third violation within 24 months is subject to an administrative penalty of $250 and the license to sell tobacco products must be suspended for not less than seven days. An individual who sells tobacco to a person under the age of 18 must be charged an administrative penalty of $50. The penalty and license suspension can not take effect until the alleged violator has had the opportunity for a court hearing. It is an affirmative defense to the charge of selling tobacco to a minor, if the person relied in good faith upon specified proof of age.
MINN. STAT. § 461.12 (2001).
Penalties to Minors
A person under the age of 18 years who purchases or attempts to purchase tobacco or tobacco-related devices and who uses a driver’s license, permit, Minnesota identification card, or any type of false identification to misrepresent the person’s age, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Except as otherwise stated above, any minor that possesses, smokes, chews, or otherwise ingests, purchases, or attempts to purchase tobacco or tobacco-related devices is guilty of a petty misdemeanor. The penalties in this section do not apply to a person under the age of 18 years who purchases or attempts to purchase tobacco or tobacco-related devices while under the direct supervision of a responsible adult for training, education, research, or enforcement purposes.
MINN. STAT. § 609.685 (2000).
A minor found guilty of using a driver’s license or other form of identification to purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco products, or of lending to another minor their driver’s license to purchase tobacco products shall have their driver’s license suspended for 90 days.
MINN. STAT. § 171.171 (2000).
A county or municipal licensing authority shall consult with interested educators, parents, children, and representatives of the court system to develop alternative penalties for minors who purchase, possess, and consume tobacco. The licensing authority and the interested persons shall consider a variety of options, including, but not limited to, tobacco free education programs, notice to schools, parents, community service, and other court diversion programs.
MINN. STAT. § 461.12 (2001).
A retailer of tobacco products may seize a form of identification listed in Minn. Stat. § 340A.503, subdiv. 6, if the retailer has reasonable grounds to believe that the form of identification has been altered or falsified or is being used to violate any law. A retailer that seizes a form of identification as authorized under this paragraph must deliver it to a law enforcement agency within 24 hours of seizing it.
MINN. STAT. §§ 609.685 & 340A.503 (2000).
Placement of Tobacco Products
No person shall sell cigarettes or smokeless tobacco in open displays which are accessible to the public without the intervention of a store employee. This does not apply to retail stores that derive 90 percent of their revenue from tobacco and tobacco-related products and which cannot be entered at any time by persons younger than 18. Violation is subject to an administrative penalty of $75 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within 24 months and $250 for a third violation within 24 months. Upon the third violation, the license to sell tobacco products must also be suspended for not less than seven days.
MINN. STAT. § 461.18 (1997).
Other Provisions
Internet Sales: Places restrictions on delivery sales of tobacco products, which are sales ordered by phone, fax or the Internet or delivered by mail. Specifically, when accepting the first order for a delivery sale from a consumer, the tobacco retailer shall obtain a copy of a valid government-issued document that provides the person’s name, current address, photograph, and date of birth; and a signed statement documenting certain information about the purchaser. If an order is made as a result of advertisement over the Internet, the tobacco retailer shall request the e-mail address of the purchaser and shall receive payment by credit card or check prior to shipping. Prior to shipping the tobacco products, the tobacco retailer shall verify the information provided against a commercially available database. The tobacco retailer shall also utilize a delivery service that requires an adult of legal purchase age to sign to accept delivery, and show a valid government-issued ID with a photograph of the person that proves the person is of legal purchase age and resides at the delivery address. Criminal penalties for violation are a cease and desist order for a first violation, a misdemeanor for a violation within two years of the cease and desist order, and a gross misdemeanor for subsequent violations. Civil penalties for violation are not more than $1,000 for the first violation and not more than $5,000 for a second and subsequent violation. Failure to pay taxes is an additional penalty of 50 percent of the tax due but unpaid.
MINN. STAT. § 325F.781 (2005).
Restrictions on Distribution of Tobacco Product Samples or Sales of Single Cigarettes
Samples
No person shall distribute promotional samples of tobacco products to the general public free of charge or at nominal cost. Single serving samples of tobacco may be distributed in tobacco stores. The court may impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each offense.
MINN. STAT. §§ 325F.77 (1987) & 325F.78 (1986).
Single Cigarettes
It is unlawful for any person to sell or distribute in this state any cigarettes the package of which does not comply with all requirements imposed by or pursuant to federal law regarding warnings and other information on packages of cigarettes manufactured, packaged, or imported for sale, distribution, or use in the United States, including, but not limited to, the precise warning labels specified in the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act. Violation is a misdemeanor.
MINN. STAT. § 325D.421 (2000).
Restrictions on Sale of Tobacco Products in Vending Machines
Placement
Tobacco vending machines are restricted to facilities that cannot be entered at any time by persons younger than 18.
MINN. STAT. § 461.18 (1997).
Penalty
Violation is subject to an administrative penalty of $75 for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within 24 months and $250 for a third violation within 24 months of the first violation. Upon the third violation, the license to sell tobacco products must also be suspended for not less than seven days.
MINN. STAT. § 461.12 (2001).
Sign Posting
A warning shall be posted and maintained in a conspicuous place on each vending machine stating: “ANY PERSON UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE IS FORBIDDEN BY LAW TO PURCHASE CIGARETTES FROM THIS MACHINE.” Violation is a misdemeanor.
MINN. STAT. § 325E.07 (1963).
Requirements
Distributors must obtain a license from the state Commissioner of Revenue to sell tobacco products. A separate license is required for each place of business. Licensing periods begin on January 1st of an even-numbered year and end on December 31st of the following year. Selling tobacco products without a license is a misdemeanor.
MINN. STAT. §§ 297F.03 (1997) & 297F.20 (2003).
A town board or governing board of a home rule charter or statutory city may license and regulate the retail sale of tobacco and establish a license fee for sales to recover the estimated cost of enforcing this chapter. The county board shall license and regulate the sale of tobacco in unorganized territories and in a town or a home rule charter or statutory city if the town or city does not license and regulate retail tobacco sales. Retail establishments licensed by a town or city to sell tobacco are not required to obtain a second license for the same location under the licensing ordinance of the county.
MINN. STAT. § 461.12 (2001).
Fee
Distributors: $300 every even numbered year for a wholesale cigarette license; $75 every even-numbered year for a wholesale license to sell other tobacco products.
MINN. STAT. § 297F.03 (1997).
License Suspension for Sales to Minors
Violation by a county or municipal retail licensee is punishable by set fines and no less than a seven day suspension of the license to sell tobacco products for the third violation within a 24-month period.
MINN. STAT. § 461.12 (2001).
An employer may not refuse to hire a job applicant or discipline or discharge an employee because the applicant or employee engages in or has engaged in the use or enjoyment of lawful consumable products, including tobacco, off the premises of the employer during non-work hours. It is not a violation for an employer to restrict the use of lawful consumable products by employees during nonworking hours if the employer’s restriction relates to a bona fide occupational requirement and is reasonably related to employment activities or responsibilities of a particular employee or group of employees; or is necessary to avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest with any responsibilities owed by the employee to the employer. It is also not a violation for an employer to refuse to hire an applicant or discipline or discharge an employee who refuses or fails to comply with the conditions established by a chemical dependency treatment or aftercare program; for an employer to offer, impose, or have in effect a health or life insurance plan that makes distinctions between employees for the type of coverage or the cost of coverage based upon the employee’s use of lawful consumable products, provided that, to the extent that different premium rates are charged to the employees, those rates must reflect the actual differential cost to the employer; and for an employer to refuse to hire an applicant or discipline or discharge an employee on the basis of the applicant’s or employee’s past or present job performance. The remedy for a violation is a civil action for damages limited to wages and benefits lost by the individual because of the violation.
MINN. STAT. § 181.938 (1992).
Each manufacturer of tobacco products sold in Minnesota shall provide the commissioner of health with an annual report, in a form and at a time specified by the commissioner, identifying, for each brand of such product, any of the following substances present in detectable levels in the product in its unburned stated and its burned state: ammonia or any compound of ammonia; arsenic; cadmium; formaldehyde; and lead. Reports under this section are public data.
MINN. STAT. § 461.17 (1997).
At its September 1998 meeting, the Minnesota State Board of Investment adopted a resolution that required each active and semi-passive equity manager to divest by September 2001 shares of any company which obtained more than 15 percent of its revenues from the manufacture of consumer tobacco products. At the close of fiscal year 2001 (June 30, 2001), the board had divested from its active portfolios all shares of companies covered by this resolution.
2004 Annual Report, Minnesota State Board of Investment.
Industry Protection
The amount of an appeal bond required to stay execution of a judgment must be in the amount of the judgment, or a lesser amount, but the total appeal bond required of all appellant(s) can not be more than $150 million regardless of the value of the judgment. If an appellee provides evidence that a judgment debtor may be dissipating assets to avoid payment of a judgment, a court may enter orders that are necessary to protect the appellee; and require the appellant(s) to post a bond in an amount up to the total amount of the judgment.
MINN. STAT. § 550.36 (2004).
Tobacco Control Appropriations
Minnesota allocated $20,525,168 for tobacco prevention and cessation programs in FY2009 (July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009) from the state’s settlement payments and the state general fund. $22,080,000 was allocated in FY2008. This is the second year of the FY2008-FY2009 biennium.
FY2008-FY2009 Biennial Health and Human Services Budget (H.F. 1078) enacted 5/25/07 and effective 7/1/07 (FY2008) & 7/1/08 (FY2009) and FY2009 ClearWay Minnesota Operating Budget.
Note: Clearway Minnesota (formerly the Minnesota Partmership for Action Against Tobacco) allocates money for a statewide tobacco prevention program, but is not controlled by the state legislature. It is overseen by the Ramsey County District Court, which heard the original tobacco settlement case brought by the state of Minnesota (see below for more details).
In 1998, Lawrence D. Cohen, chief judge of the Ramsey County District Court, approved the state of Minnesota’s plan to establish the Minnesota Partnership for Action Against Tobacco (MPAAT), a nonprofit foundation which will receive $202 million dollars (about 3 percent of Minnesota’s settlement money) over ten years to fund projects that seek to reduce tobacco use in the state. MPAAT, now called ClearWay Minnesota, serves Minnesota through its grant-making program, QUITPLAN individual stop-smoking services and community outreach, which includes an advertising campaign. The organization files an annual report with the Ramsey County District Court and the state legislature each year.
State of Minnesota and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota v. Philip Morris et al. (1998).
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Minnesota, a co-plaintiff in Minnesota’s settlement with the tobacco companies, is scheduled to receive $469 million total from the settlement subject to certain adjustments. Due to these adjustments the actual amount received will be reduced. The organization will be spending $252 million of this money over ten years to help reduce tobacco use, heart disease, and cancer in Minnesota.
State of Minnesota and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota v. Philip Morris et al. (1998).
Non-Monetary Provisions
In 1999, the legislature set a goal to reduce tobacco use among youth by 25 percent by the year 2005, and to promote statewide and local tobacco use prevention activities to help achieve this goal. The Commissioner of Health, in consultation with other public, private, or nonprofit organizations involved in tobacco use prevention efforts, is required to establish measurable outcomes to determine the effectiveness of the grants receiving funds under this section in reducing the use of tobacco among youth, and a statewide assessment of tobacco-related behaviors and attitudes among youth to establish a baseline to measure the statewide effect of tobacco use prevention activities. The commissioner must also set up a grant program through the state Department of Health for statewide and local tobacco prevention grants to reduce tobacco use among youth, as well as local public health promotion and protection to local community health boards. The legislature also required a biennial evaluation of these grant programs.
MINN. STAT. § 144.396 (2003).
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