Oregon Legislature toughens up against tobacco
The Oregon Legislature has taken on tobacco with the approval of a bill to limit cigarette distribution and an upcoming measure to increase taxes on moist snuff.
Senate unanimously passed House Bill 2136 on Tuesday. The bill bans the sale of tobacco products from vending machines in areas accessible to minors. Such vending machines, once the bill is signed into law, will still be permitted bars and other youth-free environments.
Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia already restrict youth access to vending machines, according to a National Cancer Institute’s State Cancer Legislative Database report in March 2003.
Senator Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, who carried the bill said that the American Lung Association gave Oregon a “C” because of the vending machines’ availability to minors.
The bill will also prevent health care costs by making it harder for young people to get their hands on tobacco, Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, said. The bill will return to the House for concurrence.
The Senate will vote on House Bill 2672 on Tuesday. The measure would tax moist snuff per ounce and is expected to raise $5.51 million in additional revenue in the 2009-2011 cycle.
The governor’s office said that Governor Ted Kulongoski will sign both bills into law.
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