MENTHOL COALITION
ANSR and NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center have been working together for many years. The two organizations partnered in 2015 to create the Minneapolis Menthol Coalition with the shared goal of repealing the exemption for “menthol” in Minneapolis’ flavored tobacco restrictions.
ANSR and NorthPoint recruited and empowered new social justice leaders, youth public health advocates and faith leaders from Black congregations. These leaders engaged community members to learn about and take action to counteract the predatory marketing practices of the tobacco industry. When Reynolds American Tobacco Company hired a nationally known pastor to argue the initiative was hostile to African Americans, the opposition failed because community leaders were already knowledgeable and engaged and were not dissuaded.
In 2017, the Minneapolis City Council removed the menthol exception, making Minneapolis one of the first and largest cities in the country with a comprehensive policy. Since then, the coalition has expanded to include a diverse group of leaders from more than 40 community and health organizations, educational institutions, and religious groups.
About Menthol Tobacco
Removing menthol and flavored commercial tobacco from the marketplace will address health disparities caused by Big Tobacco’s lethal tactics. Racism is a public health crisis. Clearing the market of menthol and all flavored products will directly improve the health of Black communities and other groups targeted by Big Tobacco.
Communities across Minnesota are working to protect youth and other targeted groups by enacting flavored tobacco restrictions. Minneapolis and Saint Paul led the way in Minnesota in passing policies that restrict the sale of all flavored commercial tobacco products, including menthol. Now, there are 16 Minnesota communities that have restricted or ended the sale of flavored tobacco, including menthol. Communities across Minnesota are working to protect youth and other targeted groups by ending the sale of flavored and menthol tobacco.
Our Partner:
NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center
NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center is a community-based, nonprofit primary care setting that provides and coordinates high quality, patient- and family-centered health care promotion and chronic condition management for North Minneapolis residents. NorthPoint strives to improve the physical and socioeconomic health of the North Minneapolis community through an integrated model of health and human services.
NorthPoint’s vision is to set a standard of excellence in providing culturally responsive, integrated, holistic primary health and social services that strengthen the North Minneapolis community. NorthPoint has over 20 community health workers who provide culturally specific education and resources to the community. These services include assisting NorthPoint guests with navigating MNSure, SNAP, maternal and child health care and emergency housing assistance. Community health workers serve as the link to coverage and care, provide trauma-informed care and are uniquely positioned to improve health outcomes and health equity within the community.
NorthPoint’s more than 50-year history and legacy represents a commitment that has weathered social and economic changes and challenges. Its roots are closely linked to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, a period that saw blatant racial disturbances and inequalities in urban communities across the country, including Minneapolis.
Sena Geleto is Community Outreach Coordinator – Health Policy & Advocacy at NorthPoint. She works on local and statewide commercial tobacco policy. She has testified before city councils in support of ending the sale of flavored commercial tobacco and has done extensive community organizing around tobacco price discounting and hookah in Minneapolis. Sena is also a biology major at the University of Minnesota. In 2024, she completed a series of community interviews and compiled them in a booklet called “The People vs. Big Tobacco.” The interviews capture the collective experiences of folks working to combat the devastating effects of commercial tobacco use. Download the PDF by clicking the button below.