New Year = New Regulations
From: Convenience Store Decisions
C-stores face more restrictions and taxes on cigarettes in 2018.
By Anne Baye Ericksen, Contributing Editor
As of Jan. 1, smokers in Aspen, Colo., are paying $3 more per pack of cigarettes than they did last month. Also, Oregonians must now be 21 in order to purchase any type of tobacco products in the state. That’s two different communities and two different regulatory policies, but it all adds up to one thing in 2018: The cigarette category faces more pressure than ever before.
The most heavily regulated categories in c-stores, cigarettes and other tobacco products (OTP) incurred a slew of new restrictions and taxes in 2017, and 2018 looks to be no different. While anti-smoking advocates hail these regulations as a victory in the battle to discourage new generations of smokers, for c-stores it serves as another burden on a category that’s already under fire.
