Bill That Would Have Banned Cigarettes in Nevada Dies in Committee

A bill that would have effectively outlawed the sale of cigarettes in Nevada by 2030 has died after failing to get a vote in the Nevada Assembly.

A.B. 294 never received a vote in the Nevada Assembly’s Committee on Health and Human Services. Per Nevada law, bills had until Friday, April 14, to clear the committee they originated in otherwise, they are dead for this legislative session.

Assemblyman David Orentlicher, D-Clark County, introduced the bill, which would have changed a variety of laws regarding the sales of cigarettes in Nevada. Amongst those changes, it would have:

• Prevented the Nevada Department of Taxation from renewing licenses to manufacturers and wholesale distributors of cigarettes after Jan. 1, 2029. These licenses only last for one year, meaning that no distributor would have had a valid license as of Jan. 1, 2030, meaning that retailers could no longer legally purchase cigarettes.
• Made it illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone born on or after Dec. 31, 2002.
• Allowed counties to introduce laws that would have made it illegal for anyone born after Dec. 31, 2002 to possess, attempt to possess, purchase, attempt to purchase or smoke cigarettes.
• Banned the sale of all e-cigarettes that taste like a flavor other than tobacco.

Nevada generated $153 million in cigarette tax revenue in FY22 and $162.1 million in FY21.

While A.B. 294 would have been bad for Nevada’s cigarette smokers, the bill contained no new rules for cigars.