For Immediate Release:
Contact: Chris Nordstrum
(415) 601-1992
Chris.Nordstrum@nmlegis.gov
February 16, 2020
SANTA FE – New Mexico is one step closer to licensing all tobacco retailers and raising the minimum purchasing age to 21. Senate Bill 131, the “Tobacco Products Act,” passed on the Senate floor late Saturday by a vote of 28-11. State Senators Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, and Gabriel Ramos, D-Silver City, are sponsoring the legislation.
The Tobacco Products Act would give the Alcoholic Beverage Division of the state Regulation and Licensing Department the authority to supervise and fine tobacco retailers. By licensing retailers, compliance and enforcement efforts will help to curb the use of tobacco products by minors. Tobacco manufacturers, distributors, and retailers will all be required to obtain a license and can be penalized if in violation of the Act. To enforce the legislation, RLD and the Department of Public Safety (DPS) are permitted to conduct inspections of any location where tobacco products are manufactured, distributed, or sold.
“It’s really important to me that we do everything we can to keep e-cigarettes and e-liquids away from young people, and regulation will be a good mechanism to do just that,” stated bill co-sponsor Senator Gabriel Ramos. “Too many kids are getting sick from these products.”
According to the American Lung Association, the high school tobacco use rate in New Mexico is 31%. This includes e-cigarettes.
If the bill is passed, it would make New Mexico the first state to have a comprehensive regulatory act for e-cigarettes and e-liquids, putting the state at the forefront of regulating this industry.
Senate Bill 131 is now headed to the House of Representatives for consideration. The measure will go into effect as law on July 1, 2020, if passed and signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
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