COUNCIL BANS SALE OF SINGLE CIGARS IN BID TO CURB YOUTHS' MARIJUANA USE

The Prince George's County Council adopted one of the nation's most
sweeping restrictions on the sale of cigars yesterday, an effort to
curb a growing trend among urban youths of using hollowed-out cigars
to smoke marijuana.

The council voted 8 to 1 to ban the sale of single cigars, requiring
stores to sell them in packages of at least five. The new law will
also make it easier to charge someone possessing a cigar with a drug
paraphernalia offense.

The action drew a threat of legal action by the Maryland Association
of Tobacco and Candy Distributors, whose lobbyist said the council had
overstepped its authority in regulating a legal tobacco product. A
proposed state law to ban the sale of single cigars died this year.

The county measure's passage was applauded by local anti-drug
activists and the county police and health departments. The law is
aimed primarily at small cigars sold individually at convenience
stores and gas stations. Such cigars are often marketed in
youth-friendly flavors such as cherry, apple and lime and are sold for
as little as 80 cents to $1.

Tobacco stores that specialize in cigar sales, and often sell high-end
cigars for as much as $5 apiece or more, are excluded from the
legislation's restrictions, as are other locations that are sometimes
age-restricted, including golf courses, fraternal lodges, bars and
restaurants.

Studies have shown that the cigars have become increasingly popular
among young people in predominantly black communities and can be a
gateway to a lifelong cigarette habit, said Kathleen Dachille,
director of the Center for Tobacco Regulation at the University of
Maryland School of Law. Dachille said many young people smoke cigars
for the tobacco, but they can also be easily hollowed out and filled
with marijuana.

She said requiring that cigars be sold in packs of five will raise
their price enough to deter some young people, who will also balk at
having to keep and store the packs.

"If we can prevent children in Prince George's County from initiating
smoking with a very popular attraction, we may prevent a tobacco user
from growing up," she said.

She said she thinks that Prince George's is the only jurisdiction in
the nation to ban the sale of single cigars, but New York City and
Rhode Island are considering similar measures. A similar law in
Philadelphia was struck down by a court for other provisions.
Baltimore is also considering new health regulations that would have
the same effect, and a District law targets cigar products, such as
wrappers, as drug paraphernalia.

Sylvia Quinton, who works with the Suitland-based Substance Abuse
Treatment Education Prevention Network, said use of short fat cigars,
often called blunts, to smoke marijuana has "become embedded in youth
culture." Blunts make frequent cameos in rap music and movies.

She said the new law cannot stamp out the glorification of blunts, but
raising the price might discourage some youths.

The law was opposed by tobacco distributors and the Altria Group, the
parent company of Philip Morris. Last year, Altria bought the company
that makes Black and Mild cigars, a popular brand for single sales,
Dachille said. Bruce C. Bereano, a lobbyist for the distributors, said
the intent of the law was "laudable." But, he said, the law will only
create a cottage industry of people who buy cigars in packs of five
and then sell them individually on the streets.

A spokesman for County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) said he will sign
the bill. Dachille and Quinton said they will again support a state
law when the legislature meets in January.