Keeping up with the Industry: Minnesota's Success Modernizing Tobacco Laws

Audience:

State and local tobacco control advocates interested in limiting the influence of new tobacco products.

Key Points:

Increasingly, tobacco manufacturers are reengineering or relabeling products to avoid higher tax rates and flavor restrictions recently imposed on cigarettes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is clear that today’s tobacco industry is evolving for the 21^st century and it is essential that state laws governing tobacco keep up with them.  

With its new law – the Tobacco Modernization and Compliance Act of 2010 – Minnesota took an important first step in addressing a significantly expanded tobacco industry by bringing existing definitions and regulations up to date to accommodate a new generation of novel tobacco products coming to market such as Sticks, Orbs, Strips, snus and e-cigarettes. The law also requires that all tobacco products be sold behind the counter so they are not easily accessible to youth and prevents the sale of new tobacco products and e-cigarettes to youth.

Educational Experience:

This information will be provided via oral presentation with opportunities for questions and answers.

Benefits:

Participants will learn strategies for defining and taxing tobacco products in their state. The session will focus on lessons learned from Minnesota’s enactment of the Tobacco Modernization and Compliance Act and highlight key partnerships that made passage of the law possible. Participants will leave the session able to identify specific resources, tactics and model legislative language they can use in their own state.