CHICAGO – While South Dakota’s House of Representatives recently voted down a bill to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21, that same movement is ongoing in seven other states, according to Lakeville, Minn.-based NATO. Meanwhile, tobacco retailers in Duluth, Minn., took a major hit this month as lawmakers voted to restrict menthol and other flavored tobacco products to over-21 retail locations.
Legal-age regulations continue to percolate across the country. The most recent state to introduce a move to raise the legal age for buying tobacco products to 21 was Maryland, with ongoing similar age-restrictive proposals under consideration in Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts and elsewhere.
And seven states—Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington—are considering altering excise taxes on tobacco products, while New Jersey lawmakers are contemplating a statewide ban on menthol-flavored tobacco products.
Using NATO and other industry sources, CSP created a state-by-state rundown on tobacco legislation that occurred in recent weeks. Read on for updates on the three biggest regulatory issues and more actions across the country.