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Arkansas

Statewide Tobacco 21 Grade

F

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Report Card
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Enforcement

Although Arkansas has a statewide Tobacco Retail License, the fee is only $50 which is not an adequate amount to cover enforcement. The Arkansas Tobacco Control Board is the designated enforcement agency who places penalty for non-compliance on the retailer and clerk; however, state law does NOT mandate a specific number of annual compliance checks or require age verification at a certain age for tobacco purchase, which will result in poor retailer compliance.
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Tobacco Retail License

Comprehensive statewide Tobacco Retail License covering all tobacco products
Multiple Tobacco Retail Licenses that cover all tobacco products
Tobacco Retail License only covers cigarettes and NOT e-cigarettes
No statewide Tobacco Retail License
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Preemption

No preemption
Preempted from raising the sales age
Preempted from creating a Tobacco Retail License

All public health is local. Often Big Tobacco works to add preemption to statewide tobacco control bills so cities and counties are unable to enact laws that better protect the public.
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High School Vaping Rate

24.3
of High School Seniors have vaped in the past 30 days
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Tobacco Prevention vs. Industry Marketing

Arkansas spends $12M in tobacco prevention efforts and the tobacco industry spends $107.4M in marketing. For every $1 spent in prevention, Big Tobacco spends $9 in marketing.

$1
$9
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Tax per pack of cigarettes

$1.15

E-cigarette tax

$0.00

State Rank

35

Higher tobacco taxes are associated with decreases in tobacco use and increases in cessation and lower youth initiation.
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Annual State Healthcare Costs due to Tobacco Use

$1.21 billion

References

Information updated Nov 2020. Please contact Amanda.Turner@tobacco21.org if you have suggested updates.

Arkansas In The News

Take Action To Protect Kids

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Other Helpful Resources:

Tobacco Free Kids Arkansas

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its deadly toll in the United States and around the world. Our vision: A future free of the death and disease caused by tobacco.

American Lung Association State Report Card

The ALA ‘State of Tobacco Control’ report tracks progress on key tobacco control policies at the state and federal levels, and assigns grades based on tobacco control laws and regulations in effect as of January 2, 2014.

SLATI State Information Arkansas

SLATI (State Legislated Actions on Tobacco Issues) is an extensively researched and invaluable source of information on tobacco control laws and policy, and is the only up-to-date and comprehensive summary of state tobacco control laws.

The Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation and the Campaign For Tobacco Free Kids support these four principles for Tobacco 21 ordinances:

  1. Include all tobacco and nicotine products, specifically e-cigarettes. The only exceptions would be FDA recognized nicotine replacement products (gum, patch, etc.) intended for cessation.
  2. Include significant enforcement provisions against illegal sales as research shows that consistent enforcement is of critical importance.
  3. Not include any pre-emption against local authority in more stringent regulation of tobacco or other nicotine product sales, secondhand smoke, or e-cigarette vapor.
  4. Ideally not include possession, usage, or purchase (PUP) penalties that result in criminal records, and instead place the onus on the purveyors of these addictive products.

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