St. Paul Nixes Sale of Flavored Tobacco at Convenience Stores

Retailers will have three months to get rid of those products.

January 08, 2016

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Paul City Council unanimously approved a measure to ban flavored tobacco products from convenience stores, the Pioneer Press reports. The ordinance only allows the sale of those products at tobacco shops, which only permit customers age 18 and older to enter and have at least 90% of their revenue from tobacco sales.

The council gave convenience stores 90 days to remove any flavored tobacco products from their shelves. Tobacco retailers and trade groups strongly opposed such a change, especially in light of the c-store’s stellar record in compliance checks with the city.

The ordinance covers flavored e-cigarette products as well as chewing tobacco, cigars and cigarettes. The new regulation also placed a minimum price on cigar packages: at least $2.60 per cigar for packets of three or more cigars, or $10.40 for a four-cigar package.

Other cities, such as Cleveland, Ohio, are also considering restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products. This year, Hawaii became the first state to forbid the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.

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