Our History

Blue Cross commissioned researches from Ohio State University to calculate the 2021 costs of smoking in Minnesota due to health expenditures and lost productivity. The report, released in early 2024, demonstrates that the costs of smoking remain high.

$1 million in funding per year for up to three years to six Minnesota nonproft organizations and one Tribal nation. Funded projects will work to address inequities related to commercial tobacco; support the growing, harvesting and use of traditional and sacred tobacco by Native Americans; and support our shared goal to eliminate commercial tobacco use in all its forms.