OLYMPIA, Wash. - Both the Washington House and Senate are considering bills that would ban the sale of flavored tobacco products, KPTV reports. Also included in the bills would be the sale of smokeless tobacco products, including capsules, pills and pouches.
On Monday, Washington Secretary of the Department of Health Mary Selecky appeared before the Senate in a hearing on the issue, saying that flavored tobacco products have a major impact in young people smoking. The state??s Office of Financial Management pointed out that the bans would cause the state to lose around $20 million over the next two years due to a drop in tax revenue.
State Sen. James Holmquist Newbry may add a provision to the bill that would allow adults to purchase flavored tobacco products. The bill also includes a ban on pipe tobacco. In addition, the proposal would give localities more authority to regulate tobacco and would enact more regulations regarding retail tobacco displays.
It??s unclear how such a bill would effect the growing roll-your-own tobacco stores popping up in Washington, the Kitsap Sun reports. Consumers can use machines to roll their own cigarettes for around half to two-thirds the cost of commercially manufactured cigarettes.
For example, DIY Tobacco in Port Orchard, Wash., has seen a brisk business since opening in December. With the state and federal taxes on cigarettes pushing the cost of a pack up by more than $4, roll-your-own cigarettes have garnered a following. Taxes on loose tobacco are much lower than on cigarette packs.
A court case might change that, though. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio handed down an injunction against the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau forbidding the agency from enforcing federal rules requiring roll-your-own stores to have manufacturing licenses.
However, some in the tobacco industry claim that roll-your-own stores use pipe tobacco for cigarette tobacco in order to take advantage of a lower tax rate. David Sutton of Altria Media Affairs said that pipe tobacco sales have spiked while roll-your-own tobacco sales have dropped.
"Altria??s tobacco companies support legislative efforts to ensure that roll-your-own tobacco is taxed in the manner that Congress intended," said Sutton.
In addition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is "gathering information about practices related to these [roll-your-own cigarette] machines to determine the appropriate regulatory response," said spokesman Jeff Ventura.