skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Study: Low-Income Neighborhoods, Kids Still Targets of Big Tobacco

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 13, 2020   

MINNEAPOLIS -- Many tobacco retailers are located near public schools and in low-income neighborhoods, according to a new study. It maps out the industry's presence in 30 U.S. cities, including Minneapolis.

The study found in Minneapolis, 52% of public schools are within 1,000 feet of a tobacco retailer.

Researchers at several universities collaborated to find about seven times more of these businesses per square mile in the lowest-income neighborhoods compared to the highest-income areas.

Community advocate Gene Nichols said this has been going on for decades, and more education in these areas can reduce demand.

"I think what we're doing today in the community will pay dividends down the road if we continue it," Nichols said. "If we do a strong, better job at finding people to go out into the community, giving them the facts."

Nichols has worked to expose the marketing of menthol products in African-American communities.

The study showed the industry aggressively sells its products in vulnerable areas and will work around laws aimed at curbing such efforts.

Opponents of restricting tobacco sales said it could have unintended consequences, like creating an unregulated underground market.

Minneapolis and the State of Minnesota have enacted a variety of tobacco restrictions in recent years.

Minneapolis has focused on limiting where menthol tobacco products can be sold. But more tobacco shops popped up after the ordinance was enacted, because retailers adjusted to zoning requirements.

Laura Smith, senior public affairs manager for the group ClearWay Minnesota, said it illustrates policymakers need to do more work.

"We urge them to continue having these strong, local licensing and zoning laws, but also making sure that we can take all flavored products out of the marketplace, at the local level and at the state level," Smith said.

Five Minnesota cities now prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco products. A similar plan in the Legislature saw some movement earlier this year, and supporters hope it will be revisited.

But these efforts have been targeted with lawsuits by the tobacco industry, which sees the ordinances as an overreaction to the increase in vaping among young people.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021