The following article was contributed by the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO)
The following state tobacco-related legislative bills were introduced in the past week. They are listed below alphabetically by state:
Arizona: Senate Bill 1678 requires tobacco and e-cigarette retailers to obtain a license from the state Department of Health Services, sets penalties, and permits local jurisdictions to further regulate tobacco products.
Hawaii: House Bill 1423 establishes a tax on vapor products of 10 percent of the wholesale price.
Maryland: Senate Bill 259 prohibits the sale of flavored tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, snus, and any other tobacco product) and flavored electronic smoking devices. Prohibited flavors include menthol, mint, and wintergreen.
New York: Senate Bill 3063 prohibits the sale of cigarettes with single-use filters and single-use electronic cigarettes. Senate Bill 3356 requires liquid nicotine and electronic cigarettes to be sold in age 21 restricted locations. Senate Bill 3448 ( same as A2172) amends certain definitions relating to tobacco products; changes the minimum pack sizes for certain tobacco products and the minimum tax on certain products; increases the tax on tobacco products to 95 percent of wholesale; for moist snuff, the higher of 95 percent or $3.63 per ounce; single-unit tobacco products, the higher of 95 percent or the rate imposed on cigarettes; loose tobacco for smoking per .65 ounces, the higher of 95 percent or the amount on a pack of 20 cigarettes; cigars (5 pack) the higher of 95 percent or the amount on a pack of 20 cigarettes with a proportionate tax on packages with fewer than 5 cigars.
Tennessee: House Bill 1438 increases the cigarette tax from 3.0 cents to 8.35 cents per cigarette and increases the OTP tax from 6.6 percent to 17 percent of wholesale.
West Virginia: Senate Bill 266 contains language for the state to preempt the field of legislation concerning the regulation of tobacco products, tobacco-derived products and alternative nicotine products.
State Legislative Bill Actions
The following state tobacco-related legislative bills have been acted on by a state legislative committee or state legislature. These are listed below alphabetically by state:
Connecticut: House Bill 6488, which prohibits the sale of flavored cigarettes, tobacco products, electronic nicotine delivery systems and vapor products, was heard in the Joint Committee on Public Health on Feb. 1, 2023.
