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Tag: Minneapolis

  • Minneapolis Sets $25 Minimum on Vapes in Landmark Ordinance

    Minneapolis Sets $25 Minimum on Vapes in Landmark Ordinance

    The Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a new ordinance establishing a minimum price of $25 for all vaping devices, making it the first known law of its kind in the U.S. Approved at the council’s July 10 meeting, the law is expected to take effect soon, with Mayor Jacob Frey signaling his support.

    The new rule extends the city’s existing tobacco pricing policies and is aimed squarely at curbing youth access to “cheap disposable vapes.” The ordinance applies to any type of electronic delivery device, regardless of whether it contains e-liquid, but excludes e-liquid bottles, prefilled pods, and accessories. Retailers must now price each vape device at no less than $25 before taxes or fees, even if sold in multipacks.

    While public health advocates support the measure, local retailers may face sales losses as customers travel outside the city to avoid higher prices.

    Minneapolis already has minimum prices on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

  • Cigar Lounge Sues City Over 15-Minute Smoking Limit

    Cigar Lounge Sues City Over 15-Minute Smoking Limit

    Anthony’s Pipe & Cigar Lounge filed a lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis for a law it passed last year that put a 15-minute time limit on cigar smoking in tobacco shops. Representatives of Anthony’s say the law seems targeted, as Anthony’s is the only shop in the city where indoor smoking is allowed.

    According to 2007’s Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, customers are permitted to smoke cigars in licensed indoor areas “for the specific purpose of sampling tobacco products.” The state did not define “sampling.” Minnesota is a local authority state in regards to tobacco control, meaning local municipalities are granted the authority to create local ordinances. Last year, Minneapolis decided to define “sampling” as 15 minutes of smoking.

    Hadi Aboumourad, the owner of Anthony’s, and his lawyer, John Sperry, recently filed a lawsuit against the city, hoping it will repeal the ordinance.

    “It’s without any demonstrable health benefit that avoids secondhand smoke exposure to non-smokers, which is a fundamental purpose of the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act,” Sperry told Cigar Aficionado. “We see that [the 15-minute sampling window] as a death by a thousand cuts.

    “They can’t outright ban something that the state statute clearly permits and expresses as an exemption. Fifteen minutes of sampling and then prohibiting it after 15 minutes is still a prohibition of sampling, right?”

    Sperry told Cigar Aficionado that despite going into effect last December, the city ordinance has not actually been enforced yet, and the city assured him they would not enforce the ordinance unless a complaint is made. Sperry requested a temporary injunction on the ordinance while the lawsuit plays out, making the ordinance unenforceable while the lawsuit works its way through the court. A hearing is set to decide on the temporary injunction on May 29.