New Mexico is neither the best nor the worst nationwide when it comes to state tobacco control, according to a recent annual report issued by the American Lung Association. But in several of the areas where the state scored low, as fortune would have it, legislators are offering a bill that would close some of the gaps.
The association's report recommended that New Mexico license all tobacco retailers and raise the minimum purchasing age to 21, echoing the federal law passed by Congress at the end of 2019.
Licensing retailers is essential to making sure those under the age of 21 are not able to buy tobacco products.
Licensure "would tell us who's selling the product," says JoAnna Strother, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association's Southwest region. "It would allow us to put a compliance and enforcement mechanism into place."
State Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, and Sen. Gabriel Ramos, D-Silver City, are sponsoring Senate Bill 131, which would create the Tobacco Products Act if passed.
While the bill takes on the minimum age and the licensure issue, it does not raise state tobacco taxes to $1.50 per pack of cigarettes, which the Lung Association recommended, nor does it increase funding for the state's tobacco prevention and control program. In 2019, the Lung Association lobbied at the state level to raise the tobacco taxes by that amount, but only gained a 34-cent increase, which the association says would not "impact public health."
But Ramos tells SFR the main goal of the bill is to regulate e-cigarettes and e-liquids in particular to keep them away from young people.
According to statistics from the American Lung Association, the high school tobacco use rate, including e-cigarettes, is at 31% in New Mexico. The middle school tobacco use rate is at 4%.
"We really felt that throughout the interim we needed to do something, especially because we saw so many young children getting ill," he says. "We wanted to do what we could to prevent any child from getting their hands on e-cigs and getting sick, plain and simple."
If the bill is passed this session, it will make New Mexico the first state to have a "comprehensive regulatory act for e-cigs and e-liquids."
That would put New Mexico "at the forefront of regulating this industry, so a lot of states are watching what we do," says Chris Nordstrum, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats.
The Tobacco Products Act would give the Alcoholic Beverage Division of the state Regulation and Licensing Department real teeth in supervising and punishing tobacco retailers. The division, as well as the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement, could conduct random inspections of retailers to make sure they are following the law.
That division would also have control over who can obtain a tobacco license.
Someone who tries to manufacture, distribute or sell tobacco products without a license would be guilty of a misdemeanor. Those who have a license but are not following the law can be fined up to $10,000. If a licensee sells tobacco products to a minor four times within three years, their license would be revoked permanently.
Strother tells SFR the main pushback against this type of regulation comes from retailers who say it would be too expensive to do business under the law. They call it an example of government overreach.
The bill is scheduled to be heard today by the Senate Public Affairs Committee.
It would go into effect on July 1, 2020, if passed and signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
This story is part of the "Your New Mexico Government" Project (#YourNMgov), a collaboration between New Mexico PBS, KUNM Radio, and the Santa Fe Reporter. This endeavor is funded by the New Mexico Local Journalism Fund with public media support provided by the Thornburg Foundation.
