St. Paul considering $10 minimum price for cigarette packs

St. Paul, Minn., is considering imposing a $10 minimum price tag for cigarette packs.

The St. Paul City Council is expected to consider the proposed ordinance during a city council meeting scheduled for Wednesday, according to records on the council’s website.

The legislation would bar sellers from selling cigarette packs and chewing tobacco for less than $10 before taxes, according to its text. The legislation would also ban retailers from selling tobacco products with coupons, promotional deals or other discounts.

The bill also creates separate licenses for shops that strictly sell tobacco and decrease the number of those licenses from 242 to 150. The total number of Tobacco Product shops in the city will not exceed 25. 

According to Pioneer Press, there are 190 active licenses.

Licensed shops would have to derive at least 90 percent of their revenue from licensed products and prohibit persons from under the age of 21 from entering their establishment. They must also be staffed by at least one person responsible for selling tobacco.

City Council member Nelsie Yang, who sponsored the legislation, told MPR News that the legislation was about “healing our communities and taking it back.”  

“You know, putting it back into the hands of people, and allowing them to decide, do they want a community that revolves around health and safety and so much more? The answer is yes,” Yang said.

There is precedent for setting such restrictions on tobacco. New York City sets a minimum per-pack price of $13, while Providence, R.I., bans discounts, MPR noted.