St. Louis Park, Minn. Bans Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products
The Minneapolis, Minn. suburb of St. Louis Park has approved a ban on the sale of nearly all flavored tobacco products, a change that will go into effect next spring.
The ordinance got the unanimous support of the city council on Monday night, with exemptions carved out for menthol, mint, and wintergreen, which the city said “have been in regular use for many decades and are not directly marketed to youth.” It will go into effect on May 1, 2018, in order to give retailers time to sell off existing stock and prepare for the change.
Once the ban is in effect, retailers will face a violation of $500 for a first-time offense of selling a flavored tobacco product, escalating to $1,000 and a one-day suspension of their tobacco retailer license for a second violation within 36 months. A third violation in that time frame comes with a fine of $2,000 and a 30-day suspension of the license, while a fourth violation results in license revocation.
The approval comes on the heels of the city raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco and nicotine delivery products from 18 to 21-years-old, a change that was approved in July and which went into effect on Oct. 1.
St. Louis Park is located immediately to the west of Minneapolis and is home to approximately 47,500 residents.
Patrick Lagreid
I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.
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