Laserfiche WebLink
$15 MINIMUM PRICE <br />ON CIGARETTES AND SMOKELESS TOBACCO <br />Why $15 and not $10, like St. Paul? <br />Cigarettes are often cheaper and certain brands are more heavily discounted in low- <br />income communities and neighborhoods with greater populations of school-age youth <br />and Black residents.⁶ As a result, these groups are more likely to use commercial tobacco <br />and experience disproportionate rates of tobacco-related death and disease. <br />Strong minimum prices can prevent price manipulation based on geographic area or <br />brand.⁶ The industry would no longer be able to lower prices in specific communities, <br />which would reduce industry targeting and income-based disparities in smoking rates. <br />Low-income individuals <br />who smoke may face <br />greater barriers to <br />quitting, and increased <br />prices may contribute <br />to their financial <br />hardship if they are <br />unable to quit. <br />Communities <br />implementing minimum <br />price policies must <br />ensure that quit <br />resources are widely <br />accessible.⁷ <br />Many commercial tobacco products in Minneapolis <br />are already priced higher than $10 per pack or can. <br />According to a summer 2023 assessment of a sample <br />of Minneapolis tobacco retailers: <br />63% <br />did not sell any <br />cigarettes for less than <br />$10/pack <br />did not sell any chewing <br />tobacco for less than <br />$10/can. <br />45% <br />Minneapolis already has a $2.60 minimum price per <br />cigar, which is $13 when multiplied to a pack of 5. <br />A $15 minimum price on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco has the potential to reduce <br />availability, prevent youth initiation, and protect residents from industry targeting. <br />Created with funding from a Commercial Tobacco-Free <br />Communities grant from the Minnesota Department of Health. <br />Learn more at www.DontDiscountMyLife.org <br />(March 2024) <br />Sources: <br />1. Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report for 2021. Issued 2023. <br />2. POINT-OF-SALE TOBACCO PRICING POLICIES Equity, Public Health, and Legal Considerations; Change Lab Solutions. <br />3. Bader P, Boisclair D, Ferrence R. Effects of tobacco taxation and pricing on smoking behavior in high risk populations: a <br />knowledge synthesis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011 Nov;8(11):4118-39. doi: 10.3390/ijerph8114118. <br />4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Policy, Performance, and Evaluation <br />5. Bhatnagar A et al. Electronic cigarettes: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2014;130:1418- <br />1436. <br />6. Henriksen L et al. Neighborhood variation in the price of cheap tobacco products in California: results from health stores for a <br />healthy community. Nicotine & Tobacco Res. 2017;19(11),1330-1337. doi:10.1093/ntr/ntx089; Khan T et al. Cigarette Pricing Is <br />Lowest in Black Neighborhoods: 2010-12. A Tobacconomics Research Brief. Chicago: Tobacconomics, Health Policy Center, <br />Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago; 2015. <br />7. Menthol Coalition Factsheet on Culturally Specific Cessation for African American Community (ANSR, 2024). <br />34