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Georgia

Statewide Tobacco 21 Grade

C

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Report Card
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Enforcement

Georgia's statewide Tobacco Retail License fee of $10 isn't adequate nor is it designated to fund enforcement. Their Department of Revenue is the designated enforcement agency that does not have a mandated number of compliance checks to be conducted. ID check for cigarettes is only required if the purchaser appears under legal age and penalties are placed on "Person" making it ambiguous who is actually penalized; all that could lead to 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

17%
of High School Seniors have vaped in the past 30 days
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Tobacco Prevention vs. Industry Marketing

Georgia spends $750,000 in tobacco prevention efforts and the tobacco industry spends $332.4M in marketing. For every $1 spent in prevention, Big Tobacco spends $443 in marketing.

$1
$443
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Tax per pack of cigarettes

$0.37

E-cigarette tax

$0.00

State Rank

50

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

$3.18 billion

References

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

Georgia In The News

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Other Helpful Resources:

Tobacco Free Kids Georgia

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 Georgia

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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