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For minimum price laws to be effective, they should expressly exclude trade discounts when <br />calculating minimum price. <br />13 <br />●Minimum prices can also be set at much higher specific amounts and can be tied to inflation. <br />●Price discounting is targeted at communities disproportionately impacted by the harms of <br />tobacco: African Americans, LGBTQ individuals, women, youth, and low-income populations. <br />●Because of the harms caused by tobacco products, these communities experience <br />tobacco-related illnesses at greater rates. <br />o “Tobacco use is a major contributor to the three leading causes of death among African <br />Americans - heart disease, cancer, and stroke.” <br />14 <br />o “Lower-income populations have less access to health care, making it more likely that <br />they are diagnosed at later stages of diseases and conditions.” <br />15 <br />o “LGBT individuals are less likely to have health insurance than straight individuals, which <br />may negatively affect health as well as access to cessation treatments, including <br />counseling and medication.” <br />16 <br />●Keeping tobacco prices low means people of color and low-income communities will continue to <br />experience health disparities and inequities. No one benefits from cheap tobacco. <br />●Jurisdictions should set minimum prices high enough to discourage youth and others who have <br />never used tobacco or nicotine from initiating use and to encourage current tobacco users to <br />reduce their use or quit entirely. <br />17 <br />●A strong MFPL should also prohibit price discounts and promotions (eg, buy one, get one free; <br />multi-pack discounts; and other retail value-added offers) as well as redemption of coupons for <br />tobacco products. <br />18 <br />●These provisions further strengthen the policy by preventing discounts on more expensive <br />products and products that may not be subject to a minimum floor price (eg, electronic smoking <br />devices). implementing the two strategies together prevents the tobacco industry from <br />undermining the policy by lowering the retail price of a product to compensate for the lack of <br />discounts.19 <br />19 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A <br />Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease <br />18 McLaughlin I, Pearson A, Laird-Metke E, Ribisl K. Reducing tobacco use and access through strengthened <br />minimum price laws. Am J Public Health. 2014;104 (10),1844-1850. doi:10.2105/AJPH. 2014.302069. <br />17 Bhatnagar A, Whitsel LP, Ribisl KM, Bullen C, Chaloupka F, Piano MR, Robertson RM, McAuley T, Goff D, <br />Benowitz N, on behalf of the American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee, Council on <br />Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing, Council on Clinical Cardiology, and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes <br />Research. Electronic cigarettes: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. <br />2014;130:1418-1436. <br />16 CDC (2019). Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons and Tobacco Use. <br />15 CDC (2019). Cigarette Smoking and Tobacco Use Among People of Low Socioeconomic Status. <br />14 CDC (2019). African Americans and Tobacco Use <br />13 Apollonio DE, Glantz S. Tobacco manufacturer lobbying to undercut minimum price laws: an analysis of internal <br />industry documents. Tob Control. 2020 Dec;29(e1):e10-e17. doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2019-055354. Epub 2020 <br />Jan 22. PMID: 31969381; PMCID: PMC7374022. <br />Association for Nonsmokers- MN www.ansrmn.org <br />37