Agenda - Council - 06/23/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Are electronic cigarettes licensed the same as tobacco products? What are the packaging requirements for electronic cigarettes? How are the sales and use of electronic cigarettes regulated? How are electronic cigarettes taxed? Under Minnesota Statutes, section 461.12, the sale of electronic cigarettes is subject to the same municipal licensing provisions as other tobacco products. The law also extends a municipality's ability to conduct compliance checks to places where electronic cigarettes are sold. Electronic cigarettes are prohibited from being accessible to the public without the intervention of a store employee, from being sold in vending machines, and from being sold in kiosks, in the same way as tobacco products. (Minn. Stat. §§ 461.18; 461.21) Liquids sold as part of the use of an electronic cigarette, regardless of whether it contains nicotine, must be packaged in child -resistant packaging. Child -resistant packaging is defined under the Code of Federal Regulations, title 16, section 1700.20, effective on January 1, 2015. A person must be 18 years old to purchase and use electronic cigarettes. The criminal and administrative penalties for selling or furnishing an electronic cigarette to a person under 18, or for the use of electronic cigarettes by a person under 18, are the same as the criminal and administrative penalties for selling or furnishing tobacco or tobacco -related devices to persons under 18, or for the use of tobacco by persons under 18. (Minn. Stat. §§ 461.12; 609.685) Electronic cigarettes are subject to the state's other tobacco products tax. The tobacco products subject to this tax include "any product containing, made, or derived from tobacco that is intended for human consumption" as well as "any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product." (Minn. Stat. § 297F.01, subd. 19) The tax is imposed at the rate of 95 percent of the wholesale price of the tobacco product. The tax is administered so that it only applies to the nicotine cartridge or solution used in an electronic cigarette, provided the device for which the nicotine cartridge or solution is used is sold separately. If a cartridge or solution is not sold separately from the electronic cigarette (disposable electronic cigarettes, for instance), the tax is imposed on the entire value of the electronic cigarette product. (Minn. Stat. § 297F.05, subd. 3, para. (a)) For more information: Contact legislative analyst Elisabeth Klarqvist at 651-296-5043. For questions on the taxation of electronic cigarettes, contact legislative analyst Christopher Klemen at 651-296-8959. Also see the House Research publication Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act, August 2017. The Research Department of the Minnesota House of Representatives is a nonpartisan office providing legislative, legal, and information services to the entire House. House Research Department 600 State Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 651-296-6753 www.house.mn/hrd/