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Connecticut Grade Card

Population Covered:
3,565,287
Tobacco 21 Since:
June 18, 2019
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The Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation evaluated all current statewide Tobacco 21 laws for their alignment with best practices that lead to effective prevention of youth initiation of tobacco and nicotine products.

Best Practice:

Health Department or Designated Agency

Connecticut Enforcement:

The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) is designated for licensing and penalties. The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or the commissioner’s designee is designated for compliance checks.

For e-cigarette registration and suspension/revocation of that registration, the Department of Consumer Protection is the designated agency.

Best Practice:

Before distributing any tobacco product, the tobacco retailer or the tobacco retailer’s agent or employee shall verify that the purchaser is at least 21 years of age. Each tobacco retailer or tobacco retailer’s agent or employee shall examine the purchaser’s government-issued photographic identification if the purchaser appears to be under 30 years of age.

Connecticut Enforcement:

ID check is required for any purchaser that appears to be under 30 years of age

Best Practice:

The primary burden for sales to underage purchasers should fall on the retailer who is profiting from the sales of the product and not the purchaser or non-management employee.

Connecticut Enforcement:

Penalty is placed on the retailer and some penalties are placed on the clerk

Best Practice:
Provide authority for the state, county, or municipality to inspect tobacco retailers for compliance with MLSA 21 and a mandated minimum number of annual compliance checks. Model recommends two per year for every tobacco retail establishment.
Connecticut Enforcement:

Compliance checks conducted once a year per retailer

Best Practice:
The designated agency shall conduct compliance checks by engaging persons between the ages of 18 and 20 to enter the tobacco retail establishment to attempt to purchase tobacco products.
Connecticut Enforcement:

Decoys are to be between the ages of 16 and 20 years of age

Best Practice:
A comprehensive tobacco retail license allows states and municipalities to regulate all tobacco retailers, fund enforcement programs, and create a penalty structure that suspends or revokes a license for retailers that continue to violate a MLSA 21 law.
Connecticut Licensing:

Connecticut has multiple licenses that cover all products

Best Practice:
The fee for a tobacco retail sales license shall be set and used to cover the administrative cost for licensing administration, education and training, retail inspections, and unannounced compliance checks. The tobacco retail sales license fee should not exceed the cost of the regulatory program authorized beyond the statute/ordinance.
Connecticut Licensing:

Connecticut’s Tobacco Retail Licenses partially fund enforcement

Best Practice:
An effective licensing system requires tobacco retailers to pay an annual license fee and allows it to be periodically adjusted. Fee must be adequate to cover License administration, education/training, and enforcement. An annual fee of lower than $300 is generally inadequate to fund a licensing program.
Connecticut Licensing:

Connecticut’s Tobacco Retail License fees are $200 for Dealer of cigarettes/tobacco products and $800 for electronic nicotine device registration, but $500 for any person holding a dealer registration who also holds any additional dealer registrations. Licenses renew annually.

Best Practice:

Establish a civil penalty structure for violations rather than a criminal penalty structure.

Connecticut Penalties:

Connecticut has a civil penalty structure

Best Practice:

36 months

Connecticut Penalties:

Connecticut has a 24-month violation accrual period

Best Practice:

1st violation = $500
2nd violation = $750 and (7) day suspension
3rd violation = $1,000 and (30) day suspension
4th violation = $1000 and (3) year suspension

Connecticut Penalties:

Penalty for the Dealer:
1st Violation = $300 fine if they fail to complete an online tobacco prevention education program within 30 days
2nd Violation = $750 fine
3rd Violation = $1,000 fine and license suspension for no less than 30 days
4th Violation = $1,000 fine and revocation of license

Best Practice:
An evidence-based, best practices tobacco MLSA 21 policy should focus penalties on the tobacco retailer who profits from the illegal sale rather than the youth who is likely addicted to the product. PUP laws may be unlikely to reduce youth smoking significantly.
Connecticut Penalties:

Connecticut has no laws penalizing youth for purchase, use, or possession (PUP) of tobacco products

Best Practice:

Local governments have a critical role in reducing the deadly toll of tobacco by regulating sales and restricting retailer access to youth for to these products to prevent use and addiction.
Tobacco 21 legislation should not introduce new tobacco control preemption, nor expand existing tobacco control preemption, and instead should be used as an opportunity to assert local authority or repeal existing tobacco control preemption.

Connecticut Preemption:

Connecticut law does not preempt localities from passing a minimum legal sales age law

Best Practice:

A comprehensive definition will cover all current, known tobacco and nicotine products, which include not only cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco, but also products like pipes, rolling papers, electronic smoking devices, and other related devices. A strong definition will also be broad enough to capture future products.

Connecticut Definitions:

Connecticut’s Tobacco 21 law does not include a single comprehensive definition of tobacco, but does define products separately and regulates all products within their minimum legal sales age