Star Tribune
Tobacco companies are doing an end run around Minnesota laws by wrapping cigarettes in brown paper and calling them "little cigars."
State lawmakers should act quickly to close this tax and regulation loophole, not only for revenue reasons but to prevent tobacco companies from hooking younger generations on their products.
Packages of so-called "little cigars" retail in Minnesota for less than half the price of a traditional cigarette brand -- $1.99 vs. $5.70 during a recent check at a local convenience store.
That price point and the little cigars' fruity flavors make them attractive to teens and young adults.
The per-pack difference is mainly because cigarettes are subject to a minimum price law in the state and are taxed much more than discount little cigars, which are wrongly classified as "other tobacco products."
If you put a Marlboro 100 cigarette next to a strawberry-flavored Swisher Sweet little cigar, even hard-core smokers would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
Little cigars have the same size and shape as cigarettes. They have filters. They commonly come 20 to a package.