Normal-sized cigars [image-nocss] would not be affected, said the report.
The bill sponsors are Republican senators Julie Rosen (pictured) and Carla Nelson. Rosen said it is not for the tax money that would be raised but rather to discourage youths from using the product.
Anti-smoking forces point out that little cigars are the same size as cigarettes, are often sold in similar-size packs and are marketed to cigarette smokers. Some come in flavors like chocolate or grape and could appeal to children, supporters of the higher tax rate said.
Representatives of tobacco manufacturers and wholesalers said federal studies have shown that only 1% to 2% of youth smokers are using little cigars. In addition, they complained that taxing them like cigarettes would create a logistical nightmare for tobacco wholesalers who are required to affix a state tax stamp to all cigarette packs.
Tom Briant, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO), told AP that the machines currently used to affix the stamps only work with cigarette packs. He said many little cigars come in packs of different sizes, and that the stamps would have to be attached by hand. Some little cigar packs are too small for the stamps to fit at all, he added.
Right now, 12 states and the District of Columbia tax little cigars like cigarettes. Briant said he has clients in one of those states, Iowa, that have stopped selling over half the brands of little cigars because of the cost and burden of affixing tax stamps. "This is in effect a de facto prohibition on the sale of these legal tobacco products," he said.
State Senator Gretchen Hoffman (R) said she does not think the legislature should adopt the higher rate if the main intent is to discourage smoking. "I don't agree with sin taxes," Hoffman told the news agency. "We live in a free country, and we have personal choice, and with those choices come consequences."
But State Senator Julianne Ortman, chair of the Senate Taxes Committee, signaled she might support the change--not necessarily to discourage smoking, but in the name of taxing similar products at the same levels. Ortman said she might include the proposal in a larger package of changes to state tax policy.
"My goal is consistency in the tax policies in the state of Minnesota," Ortman told AP.
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