OKLAHOMA CITY — Just a year after eliminating municipal enforcement and ordinances on underage tobacco use and possession, the Oklahoma Legislature reversed itself and gave the authority back.
This year, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed House Bill 2165, which returned the authority to the state’s cities and towns to enact and enforce ordinances related to tobacco and vape products.
The bill, written by state Rep. Cynthia Roe, a Republican from Lindsay, is a reversal of House Bill 3315, which Roe authored in 2022. That measure eliminated monetary fines for underage tobacco use and, instead, required the state’s Alcohol Beverage Law Enforcement agency to notify an underage user’s parents. The bill also eliminated municipalities’ ability to adopt and enforce ordinances that targeted underage tobacco use.
House Bill 2165, which passed the House on a 71-16 vote, returns the authority to municipalities to enact and enforce ordinances related to tobacco and vape products.
“The use of tobacco, nicotine and vapor products in our young people is a serious epidemic, and many of Oklahoma’s underage users are not considering the long-term health risks associated with ingesting these products,” Roe said. “It’s my hope that this measure will help educate our young people about the dangers of these products and ultimately save lives.”
In addition to restoring municipal oversight, Roe said HB 2165 would require anyone under the age of 21 who purchases or attempts to purchase tobacco products to complete a court-approved tobacco education program.
Violators would be required to complete an education or tobacco use cessation program or community service as ordered by the court, she said.
In 2019, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed legislation that raised the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. That legislation, authored by Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, aligned the state’s tobacco law with the federal Tobacco-Free Youth Act.
Still, while the state has moved aggressively in the past few years to target underage tobacco use, Oklahoma remains one of the few states without 100% smoke-free laws in restaurants and bars.
Current law exempts many stand-alone bars, taverns and cigar bars from smoke-free provisions, provided at least 60% of their gross receipts are from alcohol and low-point beer sales. The law also states the bars cannot share a common entrance or indoor area with another indoor workplace, such as a restaurant.
Data from the state’s Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust showed that more than 30% of Oklahoma high school youth reported using a tobacco product in 2019. Of that figure, more than 9% reported smoking cigarettes.
Statewide, the agency said, 7,500 Oklahoma adults die from smoking-related illnesses each year.
Roe said her bill has a companion bill in the Senate, Senate Bill 462, which requires all municipal judges to complete a mandatory certification program that addresses issues such as dealing with underage tobacco and vaping use.
The Oklahoma Senate is expected to hear the bill soon.