State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues (SLATI) Overview

Provides an overview of the tobacco control laws currently in place in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that are tracked by SLATI.



A.	Restrictions on Smoking in Public Places
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws/policies restricting smoking in certain places. These laws range from simple, limited restrictions, such as requiring designated smoking areas in government buildings, to laws that prohibit smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces. Twenty-two states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington - as well as the District of Columbia prohibit smoking in almost all public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Montana prohibits smoking in most public places and workplaces, including most restaurants; remaining restaurants, bars and casinos will go smokefree in October 2009. New Hampshire prohibits smoking in some public places, including all restaurants and bars. Four states - Florida, Idaho, Louisiana and Nevada - prohibit smoking in most public places and workplaces, including restaurants, but exempt stand-alone bars. Thirteen states partially or totally prevent (preempt) local communities from passing smokefree air ordinances stronger than the statewide law. * South Dakota and Wisconsin have passed legislation prohibiting smoking in almost all public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars, but the laws have not taken effect yet.

B.	Tobacco Excise Taxes
Cigarettes: All 50 states and the District of Columbia impose an excise tax on cigarettes. These taxes range from a high of $3.46 per pack in Rhode Island to a low of $0.07 per pack in South Carolina. The national average for state cigarette excise taxes (as of June 10, 2009) is $1.235 per pack. Six states - Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi and Rhode Island - have increased their cigarettes in 2009 thus far. Three states - Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York - and the District of Columbia increased their cigarette tax in 2008; Hawaii and Vermont implemented scheduled increases passed in previous years. Other Tobacco Products: Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have excise taxes on tobacco products other than cigarettes. Pennsylvania is the only state that does not impose a tax on other tobacco products. In most states, the excise tax is calculated as a percentage of the wholesale sales price to retailers, the manufacturer's invoice price or the price at which the tobacco entered the state. Sixteen states - Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wisconsin - base some or all of their tobacco product excise taxes on the weight of the tobacco package.

C.	Youth Access
Age Restrictions on Sales of Tobacco Products: All 50 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors. Most states define minors as persons under 18 years of age; however, enforcement varies widely. Four states - Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah - define minors as persons less than 19 years of age. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia require retailers to post signs at or near the point of purchase stating that selling tobacco products to minors is illegal. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia require a person selling tobacco products to check the identification of a purchaser who appears to be under a certain age. Penalties to Minors: Forty-five states penalize minors for tobacco-related offenses. Thirty-seven states prohibit minors from possessing and/or using tobacco products. Twenty-five states order minors who are guilty of a tobacco-related offense to perform community service as well as, or in lieu of, a fine. Nine states - Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont - may suspend the driver's license of a minor who violates their law. Fifteen states - Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming - require minors to attend smoking education/cessation programs in addition to, or in lieu of, other penalties. {Penalizing children has not been proven to be an effective technique to reduce underage tobacco usage. In fact, penalties may adversely affect existing programs that are proven to be effective and are required, such as compliance checks utilizing young people.} Placement of Tobacco Products: Twenty-three states - Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming - restrict customer access to cigarettes and/or tobacco products. Nine of these states - Alaska, California, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wyoming - completely prohibit customers from having direct access to all tobacco products in retail stores, and/or have language prohibiting the use of self-service displays. Almost all laws do not apply to tobacco retail stores, which are often required to prohibit minors from entering.

D.	Restrictions on Distribution of Tobacco Product Samples or Sales of Single Cigarettes
Tobacco Product Samples: All 50 states and the District of Columbia prohibit the distribution of tobacco products to minors. Twenty states and the District of Columbia restrict where free samples of tobacco products can be distributed to the general public or virtually prohibit the free distribution of tobacco products entirely. Minnesota and Massachusetts prohibit the sampling of tobacco products entirely except for single-serving samples distributed in tobacco stores. Nebraska bans samples, coupons and rebate offers for smokeless tobacco products. Six states – California, Connecticut, New York, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin – and the District of Columbia prohibit giving away samples except in specific locations such as places inaccessible to minors, and/or in a manufacturer's place of business. Three states - Hawaii, Idaho and New Hampshire - prohibit giving away samples in most public places. Tennessee prohibits giving away samples in or on public streets, sidewalks or parks. Seven states - Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and South Dakota - prohibit the free distribution of tobacco to persons less than 18 and within a certain distance of a school, playground or other location used primarily by people under 18. Sales of Single Cigarettes: Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia place restrictions on cigarette packaging and the number of cigarettes that can be sold outside the package. Twenty-two states prohibit the sale of cigarettes in packs containing less than 20 cigarettes. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia prohibit the sale of single cigarettes. Fourteen states require cigarettes to be sold in a sealed package that is provided by the manufacturer and that contains the health warning required by federal law. Eleven states require cigarettes to be sold in the original, sealed package. Ten states prohibit roll-your-own tobacco in an individual package or container that contains less than 0.6 ounces of tobacco. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia prohibit the sale of cigarette packages that do not comply with the requirements of the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act for the placement of health warnings on the package. * The number of states above does not add up to 50 because many states have multiple provisions.

E.	Restrictions on Sales of Tobacco Products in Vending Machines
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia restrict the placement of tobacco product vending machines; only Alabama, New Hampshire and New Jersey do not. Idaho and Vermont prohibit the sale of tobacco products through vending machines. Seventeen states prohibit tobacco vending machines everywhere except for bars, taverns and other places where minors are not permitted by law. Nevada prohibits vending machines except in public areas where people under 21 years of age are prohibited from loitering. Twelve states and the District of Columbia restrict vending machine placement to bars, private clubs with liquor licenses and/or workplaces not generally open to the public. Sixteen states allow vending machines in any location with a locking device or within the direct line of sight of store employees. Twenty-four states require owners, operators and/or supervisors of tobacco vending machines to post warning signs on the machines advising of age restrictions for purchase or sales.

F.	Licensing Requirements
All 50 states and the District of Columbia require the licensing of certain entities that sell tobacco products. Licensing laws range from requiring only distributors, or the party responsible for payment of excise taxes, to have licenses (Arizona and Illinois) to requiring wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers, retailers and vending machine operators to obtain licenses (Arkansas and California). Laws in 27 states and the District of Columbia include provisions that penalize a retailer who furnishes tobacco products to minors by a possible suspension or revocation of their license for multiple offenses.

G.	Smoking Protection Laws
Regrettably, 29 states and the District of Columbia have passed some form of smoker protection legislation that prohibits some or all employers from discriminating against employees or prospective employees based on their use of tobacco products. The American Lung Association does not support elevating smokers to a protected class.

H.	Advertising and Promotion
Eight states and the District of Columbia have some restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion. Texas prohibits tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet of a church, public or private school and requires purchasers of tobacco advertising to pay a fee of 10 percent of the gross sales price of any tobacco advertising. California restricts tobacco advertising in all state-owned buildings and billboard advertising within 1,000 feet of any public school or playground. Kentucky prohibits tobacco billboard advertising within 500 feet of schools. Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia require health warnings to be posted on smokeless tobacco billboard advertising. Utah prohibits the display on any billboard, streetcar, sign, bus or placard of an advertisement for tobacco products, except that dealers in tobacco products may have a sign at their place of business indicating that they sell tobacco. Delaware prohibits advertising any tobacco products within 200 feet of any public or private school but does not prohibit the display of any message or advertisement opposing the use of tobacco products. In addition, any such message or advertisement may not contain the brand name of any tobacco product or the name of any tobacco company. The District of Columbia prohibits all tobacco advertising on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit System, which operates its bus and subway systems. * Some of these advertising restrictions may be part of state law but not enforced due to a 2001 Supreme Court decision striking down advertising restrictions in Massachusetts.

I.	Tobacco Product Disclosure
Six states require tobacco product disclosure information. Massachusetts and Texas require tobacco manufacturers to disclose any added constituent of tobacco products other than tobacco, water and reconstituted tobacco sheet made wholly from tobacco. Massachusetts, Texas and Utah require disclosure of the nicotine yield for each brand of cigarettes. Minnesota and Utah require tobacco manufacturers to disclose any of the following substances in their unburned or burned states: ammonia or any compound of ammonia, arsenic, cadmium, formaldehyde and lead. New Hampshire requires its state Department of Health and Human Services to obtain from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health a list of additives for each brand of tobacco products sold. Connecticut requires its Commissioner of Public Health to issue regulations concerning how the commissioner will obtain nicotine yield ratings for each brand of tobacco product.

J	Tobacco Divestment
Massachusetts passed a state law to prohibit new public pension funds from investing in stocks, securities or other obligations of any company that derives more than 15 percent of its revenue from the sale of tobacco products and requires divestment of existing investments. Also, in Minnesota, the Minnesota State Investment Board passed a resolution in 1998 requiring all equity managers to divest shares of any company which obtained more than 15 percent of its revenues from the manufacture of consumer tobacco products, which was accomplished by June 30, 2001.

K.	Tobacco Liability
Industry Protection: Thirty-five states have enacted legislation that caps the appeal bond required for the damages portion of a lawsuit judgment. Fourteen states apply these caps on appeal bonds to all damages. Fifteen states apply the caps only to Master Settlement Agreement/separate tobacco settlement signatories. Two states - Florida and Hawaii - have separate statutes applying the cap to both settlement signatories and all other parties. Four states - Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky and Mississippi – apply these caps to punitive damages only. Almost all of these laws include an exception for intentional dissipation of assets by the appellant. No appeal bond is required to appeal a lawsuit judgment in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. California, Hawaii, Minnesota and Oregon have capped the appeal bond required at $150 million; Alabama has set the limit at $125 million; Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin have set the limit at $100 million; Tennessee has set the limit at $75 million; Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio and Rhode Island have set the limit at $50 million, while Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia have imposed a limit of $25 million. West Virginia has set the limit at $100 million each for compensatory and punitive damages. Idaho has set the level at $1 million, while a judgment in South Carolina is automatically appealed. Kentucky also makes it extremely difficult for plaintiffs to pursue a civil action against a tobacco grower or a "warehouseman."

L	Tobacco Control Program Funding/Use of Settlement Dollars
Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have made decisions that provide for the allocation of money from annual Master Settlement Agreement payments, tobacco excise tax revenues and/or general fund revenue to tobacco control and prevention programs in FY2009 (July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 for most states). The amounts range from $925,736 for tobacco prevention and cessation programs in Rhode Island to $80.4 million in New York. New Hampshire and South Carolina are spending no new state money for tobacco prevention and cessation programs this fiscal year. In terms of a percentage of the level recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alaska ranks highest in its allocation of funds for tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Seventeen states - Alaska, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin - and the District of Columbia have set up arrangements to securitize all or part of their annual Master Settlement Agreement revenue. {Securitization involves selling or pledging expected tobacco settlement payments to a state-created corporate entity for the purpose of issuing bonds backed by settlement funds. The state then receives a smaller lump sum payment up front.}

Last updated: 6/15/09