NO MORE CHEAP TOBACCO
The tobacco industry spends over $7 billion dollars a year to keep tobacco prices low because of the overwhelming evidence that cheap products make it more likely youth will get hooked and smokers will have a harder time quitting.
Nearly 70% of tobacco users want to quit; half make an attempt each year; fewer than 10% are successful — but more succeed when fewer cheap products are available.
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Stock photo. Posed by model.
“We don’t need to have that happen again.”
— Tobacco industry executive reacting to 1982–83 price increases that caused 2 million adults to quit smoking and kept 600,000 teenagers from starting.
Comprehensive Tobacco Retail Licenses include each of these requirements that put a stop to Big Tobacco’s pricing schemes.
MINIMUM PRICE
Teens smoke cigarillos more than cigarettes, at least partially because cigarillos are so much cheaper — under $1! The Surgeon General recommends a $10 minimum price for cigarettes, and a growing number of communities require minimum prices for cigars and cigarettes.
MINIMUM PACK SIZE
Federal law requires a minimum pack size of 20 for cigarettes to stop stores from selling single cigarettes (aka “loosies”), but cigars are exempted. Single cigars are sold in local stores for well under $1, and packs of 2-6 cigars are nearly as cheap. For this reason, minimum pack size requirements are more effective when combined with minimum price policies.
NO TOBACCO COUPONS
Big Tobacco spends over $300 million a year on coupons and other discounts. Access to tobacco coupons makes youth more likely to become addicted and current smokers more likely to keep smoking.
