MADISON, Wis. – Legislation introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature would seek to curb youth smoking and tobacco use by pricing (i.e., taxing) all tobacco products the same.

State Rep. Garey Bies’ Backpack Tobacco Act seeks to close “loopholes” in state law by making all tobacco products taxed equally at the same rate as cigarettes, and ensure that all tobacco products “are inaccessible to customers without the assistance of the retailer.”

According to Bies’ website, “Wisconsin’s tobacco laws are full of loopholes that are being exploited to lure kids with new, cheap and addictive products. …One glaring example of this is the skyrocketing popularity of so-called ‘little cigars.’ These cigars are essentially cigarettes wrapped in tobacco leaf but cost a fraction of the price of regular cigarettes — sometimes as little as $1.00. These products are often sold individually on easy-to-access displays well within kids’ reach and budget.” 

Bies continues that little cigars, “with their candy-like packaging and fruity flavors,” are able to “skirt Wisconsin’s cigarette tax,” saying that the products “are priced just right for kids on a weekly allowance, earning money from a babysitting job or just scrounging up some spare change. The clever packaging makes it almost effortless for youth to hide possession of these products from their parents.” 

The state rep. says that Wisconsin “needs to close these loopholes to keep tobacco products out of kid’s backpacks.”