Tobacco.org

Baltimore's Proposed Ban on Sale of Single, Cheap Cigars Would Protect Kids and Health  

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and Baltimore City Health Department Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein have taken an important step to protect the city's children and health by proposing a new regulation to ban the sale of individual cigars.

The proliferation of individually sold cigars in recent years threatens to undermine efforts to prevent kids from smoking. Individual cigars, including so-called "little cigars," are more affordable to price-sensitive kids than regular cigarettes because they have lower excise tax rates and are exempt from state laws setting minimum pack sizes for cigarettes. Most insidiously, they often come in candy and fruit flavors, such as chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, cherry and cinnamon. They are often colorfully packaged and placed next to candy displays in retail outlets. The tobacco companies have a long history of using sweet flavors to attract new users, almost all of whom are children. Individually sold cigars also lack health warnings. According to Baltimore officials, individual cigars are sold for as little as 69 cents each and in a wide variety of flavors in stores across the city.

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