Michigan Senate approves tougher penalties for youth cigarette sales

(Courtesy of MLive)
by Jonathon Oosting

LANSING, MI -- The Michigan Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill that would toughen penalties for minors who attempt to buy cigarettes and individuals that sell to them.
Michigan's Youth Tobacco Act makes it illegal to sell, give or furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. It is also illegal for a minor to attempt to purchase, possess or use tobacco in a public place.

Under current law, persons who violate those rules are guilty of a misdemeanor and can be punished by a $50 fine. Senate Bill 311 would increase those fines to $100 for a first offense and up to $500 for subsequent violations.


Sponsoring state Sen. Steve Bieda, D-Warren, said he began working on the bill after seeing a group of teens smoking near a school in his district. The encounter reminded him of his uncle, who began smoking as a minor and died five years ago after a prolonged battle with lung cancer.

"You don't hear about people starting to smoke in their 40s or 50s," Bieda said. "A lot of them are in their teens. Even though there's been public health and public information efforts and other restrictions on tobacco usage, it's not that unusual to see people who are underage smoking. It's a lifelong habit, and I think this will help nip this in the bud a little bit."

Michigan's current fine schedule for underage cigarette sales was last updated in 1998, and Bieda said that his proposal to double the fine for a first-time offense is roughly equivalent to the rate of inflation and would match the penalty for a violation of Michigan's workplace smoking ban.

Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood, D-Taylor, proposed an amendment that would have extended the fines to businesses where cigarettes are sold to minors rather than just the employees who conduct the transaction.

The amendment failed after Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, explained that the bill passed out of his Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support and suggested he did not want to "rock the boat and lose this improvement in law."

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.

By Jonathan Oosting | joosting@mlive.com 

Reference Link: http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/09/michigan_senate_approves_tough.html