Tobacco bill draws strange allies

LINCOLN — A proposal to make it illegal for youngsters to use or possess tobacco in Nebraska created some strange bedfellows.

Both the American Cancer Society and Reynolds American (formerly RJ Reynolds Tobacco) backed the bill introduced by State Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center.

The Judiciary Committee heard testimony Friday on Legislative Bill 886. The committee took no immediate action.

Under the bill, youngsters under age 18 could be charged with infractions for using or possessing cigarettes or other tobacco products.

The penalty for a first violation would be a $100 fine. A second violation within two years would be $200 and a third violation in that time period would be $300.

The matter would not become part of a youngster’s criminal record.

Stuthman said he agreed to introduce the bill out of concern about the effects of smoking on young people. He said it was brought to him by Reynolds.

Minors possessing tobacco already is illegal in 36 states, including all of Nebraska’s neighbors, Stuthman said.

Jim Moylan, a Reynolds lobbyist, said he doesn’t know whether the laws in other states laws have reduced underage smoking.

Nebraska law now makes it a misdemeanor for youths under age 18 to use or buy tobacco. The maximum penalty is a $100 fine.

Youngsters charged with using tobacco can get out of the charge by providing evidence against the people who sold or gave them the tobacco.

Mark Welsch of the Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution took a neutral position on the proposal.

He said he wasn’t convinced the bill would reduce the number of minors who smoke and didn’t expect authorities would make enforcement a high priority.

“We don’t want kids to smoke, but we don’t want the focus to be on criminalizing children,” Welsch said.

He called instead for laws to penalize the owners of stores that sell tobacco to minors.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com

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