MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis is looking to become the first city in Minnesota to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, as New York City and Providence, R.I., have done. A proposed ordinance, as reported by the Star Tribune, would limit sales of flavored tobacco (including cigars, smokeless, hookah and electronic cigarettes) to around two dozen tobacco shops in the city. Other channels, including convenience, would only be allowed to sell mint, menthol and tobacco flavored products.
Although the federal government has only banned flavored cigarettes, city officials said “fruity flavors” make cigars, smokeless and e-cigs more appealing to minors, who can access the products despite existing age restrictions.
“It truly seems that this is something where frankly there has been a hole in our national regulatory system,” said Minneapolis city council member Elizabeth Glidden during a hearing in June.
Local convenience store owners have voiced strong opposition to the proposal.
Holiday Stationstores, Bloomington, Minn., has advocated for exempting gas stations from the flavor ban due to the fact that Holiday electronically verifies the identification and age of customers purchasing tobacco products (flavored or not).
“While some may say these other flavored products represent only 5% of your tobacco revenue, that actually represents tens of thousands of dollars annually that a store will lose in lost sales,” Steve Rush, Holiday Stationstores’ director of government relations, told the city’s health, environment and community engagement committee.
Tobacco companies have also spoken out against the ban. Altria Group Inc., Richmond, Va., sent lobbyists to speak with sponsors of the measure.
Altria spokesperson David Sutton told the Star Tribune that the ordinance is too broad, banning flavors from all consumers instead of dealing with the issue of underage tobacco access.
“We think it’s unfair to those adult tobacco consumers—indeed our costumers—who may prefer such flavor varieties in those categories,” he said, adding that a self-service ban or stricter age verification laws would be more appropriate.
The ordinance won passage from a key City Council committee in June and is expected to go to a final vote on July 10.
Click here for the full Star Tribune story.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.