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Wyoming Grade Card

Population Covered:
578,759
Tobacco 21 Since:
March 13, 2020
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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

Wyoming Enforcement:

Wyoming’s Department of Health and local law enforcement are the designated enforcement agencies

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.

Wyoming Enforcement:

It is required to verify age via ID or electronic scan device for the sale of nicotine products to prove purchaser is 21 or older. No additional age requirements specified.

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.

Wyoming Enforcement:

Penalty is placed on “person” which is likely the retailer and 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.
Wyoming Enforcement:

Wyoming does not have a mandated minimum number of compliance checks

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.
Wyoming Enforcement:

Decoy age is not specified

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.
Wyoming Licensing:

Wyoming does not have a statewide Tobacco Retail License

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.
Wyoming Licensing:

Wyoming does not have a statewide Tobacco Retail License

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.
Wyoming Licensing:

Wyoming does not have a statewide Tobacco Retail License

Best Practice:

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

Wyoming Penalties:

Wyoming has a criminal penalty structure

Best Practice:

36 months

Wyoming Penalties:

Wyoming 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

Wyoming Penalties:

1st Violation =  not more than $250 fine

2nd Violation = not more than $500 fine

3rd Violation= not more than $750 fine and subsequent offenses = May be subject to an injunction to prohibit the sale of tobacco products for up to 180 days.

No fine for a first offense if retailer can provide proof of adopted and enforced a written policy against selling nicotine products to persons under the age of 21, informed employees of the applicable laws regarding the sale of nicotine products to person under the age of 21, and require employees to verify the age of nicotine product customers.

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.
Wyoming Penalties:

Wyoming penalizes 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.

Wyoming Preemption:

Wyoming law preempts localities to raising of the sales age from the start law of 21

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.

Wyoming Definitions:

Wyoming’s Tobacco 21 law has a comprehensive definition of Nicotine Products.