Ann Arbor Council Defies State Law, Bans Cigarette Sales to Adults Age 18 to 20

Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 8/24/2016 | Derek Draplin

[MichCapCon]

The Ann Arbor City Council last week voted for an ordinance that will ban the sale of tobacco products to people under 21, making it the first city in Michigan to raise the legal purchasing age from 18.

The Council voted 9-2 on Aug. 4 for an ordinance sponsored by Council Member Julie Grand, a Democrat representing the city’s 3rd Ward.

Ann Arbor officials were explicit about their lack of concern with whether the ordinance conflicts with state law, and that they hope the rest of the state follows the city’s lead.

"The tobacco lobby has inflicted enough misery on this country and I'm happy to do anything we can to play a leadership role on this effort in Michigan,” Kirk Westphal, a Democratic council member from the 2nd Ward said, according to The Ann Arbor News.

"It's particularly important to me," said Council Member Chip Smith, a Democrat from the 5th Ward. "But really what compels me to support this is the fact that Ann Arbor is a leader in things, and this is exactly the type of thing we should be leading on, and I'm very happy to support this.”

In addition to the apparent conflict with a state law preempting local regulations, critics of the ordinance are concerned that its effect would be to send people under 21 to neighboring cities like Ypsilanti or Canton to buy tobacco products. Jack Eaton, a Democrat from the 4th Ward, and Jane Lumm, an independent from the 2nd Ward, voted against the ordinance. According to The Ann Arbor News, they cited Michigan's Tobacco Products Tax Act of 1993 as the cause for their concern.

The act says municipalities “shall not impose any new requirement or prohibition pertaining to the sale or licensure of tobacco products for distribution purposes.”

Stephen Postema, the city attorney for Ann Arbor, said the Home Rule Cities Act “gives broad powers to the cities to govern themselves.” Postema wouldn’t expand on any specific legislation.

Democratic Council member Sumi Kailasapathy, from the 1st Ward, said if the ordinance is illegal, it’s worth fighting for in court. Council Member Sabra Briere, a Democrat also from the 1st Ward, argued that the state law is outdated, the Ann Arbor News reported.

Tobacco 21, an advocacy organization founded by Rob Crane, a professor at The Ohio State University, inspired Ann Arbor’s ordinance. The organization claims that more than 180 cities in 12 states have Tobacco 21-inspired laws. California and Hawaii are the only states where the tobacco purchasing age is 21 statewide.

Julian Morris, the vice president of research for the Reason Foundation, studied a similar proposal in Chicago, which was later enacted. He said Ann Arbor will likely see an increase in cigarettes sold on the black market.

“As I noted in relation to the proposed ordinance in Chicago that had a similar increase in the legal purchasing age, the main consequence is likely to be an increase in the supply of cigarettes through criminal networks,” he said. Unlike Ann Arbor, Chicago added a tax increase on tobacco products.

“Raising the age at which people can legally obtain tobacco to 21 doesn’t help young adults make healthy choices at all; it simply remove choices,” Morris wrote in February. “It disempowers and infantilizes those young adults who comply and it criminalizes those who disobey.”

Kai Petainen, an Ann Arbor resident who attended the city council meeting, said he recently went to a funeral of a 23-year-old who died from a drug overdose. That friend used tobacco as a gateway drug, he said.

“It's a funeral of a person who died at only 23 and it was from an overdose. That person began using tobacco at a young age, and eventually they were using other drugs as well,” he said. “Tobacco use can lead to other drugs and it can and does destroy lives.”

“Although this person lost their life, I hope that by increasing the age to 21, that it makes it harder for others to get tobacco at a young age and it saves some lives,” Petainen added. “Yes, kids will be able to get tobacco from areas outside of Ann Arbor, but my hope is that other communities will adopt this policy as well.”

Tobacco shops in Ann Arbor have said the ordinance will drive customers out of the city.

Chris Rosenthal, who owns Tobacco Rose Cigars, said that while people ages 18 to 21 don’t generally buy premium cigars from his shop, cigar sales should not be regulated the same way as other tobacco products since cigars are a different method of tobacco use.

“The nature of premium cigars are not as addictive as other forms of tobacco because the method of using it is different,” he said. “There’s no inhaling, it’s long-leaf, no chemicals added, no-additives tobacco. So very few get addicted just from smoking a cigar after graduating from high school.”

“That will hurt in the summer time,” Rosenthal said. Those under age 21 who do buy cigars from his shop buy them to celebrate high school graduation, he said.

“I oppose it more on principle than on business,” he added, noting some members of city council went on the record acknowledging that the ordinance violates state law, yet still went along with the ban. “It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense the way it’s written, to begin with. The fact that I’m not allowed to sell it to them but they’re allowed to try to purchase it, they’re allowed to use it within the city limits. They’re allowed to drive a mile and a half down the street from my store to Ypsilanti and purchase their cigars, come back to my store because I have a legal smoking lounge and smoke it.”

“Where does that ever make sense? I don’t know,” he said. Rosenthal also said regional law firms have reached out to him, but he hasn’t decided yet and doesn’t want to cause the city thousands of dollars in legal fees.

The ordinance does not go into effect until January 1, 2017. People under the age of 21 will not be penalized for possession or use of tobacco; rather, retailers or vendors will face penalties.

[Blood of Tyrants]

If they really cared, they would ban the sale and use inside their jurisdiction. But then they would lose all that tax money.

[Smittie]

I wonder if all these bans on cigs have increased the usage rates of other drugs? Some people just seem prone to addictions and maybe if addicted to cigs they wouldn't go on to other drugs...

I don't smoke but if someone wants to do that in their own home that's their business.

[jonrick46]

State lawz? What state lawz? We ain’t following no state lawz. State law is for the little people. We are the masterz and they are the dog house people. They all need to wear dog collerz. That’s the ticket!

[Paladin2]

Peoples’ Republics are free to take away any personal freedom of their subjects that they desire.

[DouglasKC]

I’ll bet they’re OK with eighteen year old smoking pot though...

[nascarnation]

It’s sort of like NYC....

Here’s your plan B birth control pill kid, just don’t wash it down with a large soda or smoke a cig after copulating.

[just me]

One of Michigan’s biggest liberal city. So much for freedom..

[NEMDF]

Just making up their own new laws as they go along, it seems. Once 0bama set the precedent, who knows how far this will go?

[grania]

This is insane!! In most of the country, heroin is killing a lot of young adults. The issue is in many cases that doctors got them hooked on pain killers. Wouldn't it make more sense if these people were smoking tobacco products instead? It gives them time to sort through their issues, before tobacco's effects aren't reversible.

I smoked from my early teens until I was in my mid-50s. Finally decided for medical and expense reasons to quit. I'm not saying it's a good thing. I am saying that those of us who smoked are better off than the drug-addled zombies that so many of our youth are today.

[Calvin Locke]

... And we were trying different things
We were smoking funny things ...

[antidisestablishment]

Federalism is a good idea. It’s their city. It’s stupid, but it should be legal.

Many states and counties down South still have blue laws. The stores just outside city limits should support it whole-heartedly.

[relictele]

Kai Petainen, an Ann Arbor resident who attended the city council meeting, said he recently went to a funeral of a 23-year-old who died from a drug overdose. That friend used tobacco as a gateway drug, he said.

“It's a funeral of a person who died at only 23 and it was from an overdose. That person began using tobacco at a young age, and eventually they were using other drugs as well,” he said. “Tobacco use can lead to other drugs and it can and does destroy lives.”

What a staggering leap of illogic as well as another dolt who thinks government is daddy.

Here's a pic of Kai.

No, I am not shocked in the least by his appearance. Yes, I fully expected him to look like this.

Are they keeping these people in some sort of warehouse? So tired of these pillow biters.

[Lazamataz]

Well HELL!

If cities can defiantly disobey state law, seems like they can disobey federal law, too!

Cannot wait to be the mayor of the first city to reinstate slavery!

[Paladin2]

Uh, there’s than plenty-o Tax Slavery for the productive.

[Paladin2]

Uh, there’s MORE than plenty-o Tax Slavery for the productive.

[Eccl 10:2]

The ban is to make them more valuable to the teens so that when the Union members come around on registration drives and on Election Day, the teens can more easily bribed to vote for the “correct” party.

[Steven Scharf]

Portland Maine beat them by 2 months passed a bill to require 21 to purchase in July.

[VRWC For Truth]

Faggot alert! ...

[fuzzylogic]

Of course the next logical step is to ban smoking for anybody because they know what is in everyone’s best interests, people can’t be trusted. Who cares if you’re denying people personal liberty!!! ;p

At the uni football games they’ve banned smoking outside the stadium (inside the gates) and literally have paid smoking nazi’s to walk around “policing” it. What I found funny is that the smokers band together, form a wall and hide smokers from them, then rotate. It is quite the team building and bringing-together exercise!!!! It’s a great example of the problem with progressives, they think they can impose their will and people won’t change their behavior. Idiots.