30 New Tobacco State Legislative Bills to Watch

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Legislation

The following article was contributed by the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO)

State tobacco-related legislative bills that have been introduced in the first weeks of January 2023 are listed below alphabetically by state:

Indiana: House Bill 1133 prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products (including cigarettes) and flavored e-liquid—no exemption for menthol. House Bill 1214 amends the definition of tobacco product to include a product containing nicotine; requires a distributor to purchase and distribute e-liquid from an Indiana e-liquid manufacturer or Indiana e-liquid distributor. House Bill 1301 increases the cigarette tax by $1.00 per pack of twenty. Senate Bill 264 changes the cigarette tax stamp discount to $0.05 per package (currently $.013)

Mississippi: Senate Bill 2015 imposes the current OTP excise tax of 15 percent of the manufacturer’s list price on vapor products.

Missouri: Senate Bill 355 prohibits the sale or distribution of certain lighters.

Montana: Senate Bill 122 includes a provision stating that the tax on a cigar is the lesser of 50 percent of the wholesale price or 10 cents per cigar.

Nebraska: Legislative Bill 24 and Legislative Bill 251 clarify that the tax on cigars, cheroots, and stogies is 20 percent of the purchase price, except that the maximum tax imposed shall be 50 cents for each cigar, cheroot, or stogie.

New Hampshire: House Bill 531 changes the tax methodology for cigarettes / little cigars, all other tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to the following: The Commissioner of the Department of Revenue Administration shall annually set the tax rate for tobacco and nicotine products to be a maximum of the lowest rate charged for equivalent products in Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont … and a minimum of 8 percent below the lowest of such rates. House Bill 510 removes the exemption for premium cigars from the tobacco tax.

New York: Assembly Bill 143 requires the state DOH to establish nicotine levels for e-cigarettes and e-liquids which automatically taper in nicotine strength and at certain time intervals; requires manufacturers to manufacture or cause to be sold in the state e-cigarettes and e-liquid products which automatically taper in nicotine strength and at certain time intervals as determined by the DOH. Assembly Bill 187 requires a prescription from a licensed physician to obtain an electronic cigarette. Assembly Bill 188 prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes that contain certain toxic metals, requires the DOH to establish a list of prohibited toxic metals and requires the DOH to study the long-term effects of using electronic cigarettes. Assembly Bill 223 provides that every package containing an electronic cigarette and the electronic cigarette itself sold or offered for sale shall be designed by the DOH and such package shall include printed thereon or attached thereto a health warning and disclaimer label designed by the DOH.

Assembly Bill 273 repeals the exemption for flavored vapor products authorized by the FDA to be legally marketed and that has received a premarket review approval order.