Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) has signed a bill into law prohibiting pharmacies from selling tobacco products beginning in April of next year.
Fiscal estimates suggest that this move will cost the state about $800,000 in the next fiscal year with projections indicating similar levels of loss expected for FY 2027-28 and FY 2028-29.
Although many retail pharmacies, including CVS in 2014 and Hannaford in 2020, have independently decided to stop offering tobacco products in stores, businesses will no longer have the option doing so next spring.
Under LD 166, sponsored by Rep. Matt Moonen (D-Portland), pharmacies and retail establishments containing pharmacies will be ineligible to for tobacco licenses.
In testimony introducing this bill, Rep. Moonen suggested that pharmacies are “widely viewed as health care providers” and should not be sending “mixed messages” regarding tobacco use to consumers.
According to Moonen, Walgreens and Shaws are the only major retailers left in the state that have not indicated an intention to remove tobacco products from their stores.
“I see no reason why we should wait around for them to do the right thing and believe now is the time for us to take action,” said Moonen.
Several representatives of public health interests also offered testimony in support of the bill.
The American Heart Association noted that the United States is the only country that allows for tobacco to be sold in pharmacies.
Testifying in opposition to this bill was the Maine Policy Institute (MPI), a free-market, nonpartisan think tank.
According to MPI, prohibiting the sale of tobacco in pharmacies “unfairly singles out certain businesses while allowing others to continue selling these legal products.”
“This selective restriction creates an uneven playing field and arbitrarily disadvantages retailers that operate pharmacies within their establishments,” they continued, adding that consumers have options if they were prefer to frequent a pharmacy that does not sell tobacco products.
MPI further pointed out that prohibiting the sale of tobacco in certain establishments can be expected not to reduce tobacco consumption, but rather only to drive sales to alternative outlets.
“Rather than imposing selective bans that limit economic freedom and personal choice, Maine should focus on continuing successful public education campaigns that inform consumers—particularly young people—about the risks associated with tobacco use,” they argued.
Now that LD 166 has been signed into law, it would be considered a civil violation punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 daily for a pharmacy, or retail establishment that contains a pharmacy, to sell tobacco products.
This new prohibition will take effect beginning on April 1, 2026.
Click Here for More Information on LD 166
Disclosure: The Maine Wire if a Project of the Maine Policy Institute
