Aug. 17--Davis County lawmaker Paul Ray will expand his effort to curb the use of nicotine by attempting to ban all flavored tobacco in Utah.
Ray plans to introduce his latest anti-tobacco bill Wednesday at an interim session of the state Legislature.
"Everything they are trying to throw out to try and get kids on tobacco, I'm going to get rid of," Ray said.
The bill also would increase to 19 the minimum age someone can sell tobacco products.
The Clinton Republican is a leading advocate in attempting to find legislative ways to reduce the use of nicotine products.
F o r e x -- ample, part of his bill to increase tobacco taxes was included in successful legislation in the 2010 session. Another bill of his that made it to law makes it a misdemeanor to provide tobacco paraphernalia to a person younger than age 19.
But the District 13 representative's efforts earlier this year to ban just flavored smokeless tobacco products did not make it to the governor's desk.
Among the opponents of the flavored smokeless ban were tobacco giant Altria, which is the parent company to Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, and others, including the Utah Retail Merchants Association.
Ray said he received a verbal warning that Altria would sue Utah if his bill passed, a warning that scared off support.
Yet Ray is emboldened because of a recent New York City lawsuit he believes will support his cause to pass an expanded tobacco ban in the 2011 session.
"We are going bigger than last year," Ray said.
Altria officials believe there are other ways to keep tobacco products out of the hands of children.
"Instead of a ban depriving adult tobacco consumers of products they want, we think the focus should be on responsible marketing," said David Sutton, Altria spokesman.
The company sponsors the Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing, a group that works with retailers to provide training kits to help properly ID buyers.
Altria officials also believe the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is the ultimate body to regulate these types of products, not states.
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