Gov. Janet Mills (D) has signed an emergency bill carving out an exception to the state’s new law prohibiting stores containing pharmacies from selling tobacco products.
Because of this, small grocery stores could still potentially be eligible for a tobacco license, assuming that several other key conditions are met.
Although many retail pharmacies, including CVS in 2014 and Hannaford in 2020, have already independently decided to stop offering tobacco products in stores, most businesses will not have a choice beginning in April of this year.
Under these new regulations, it is 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.
[RELATED: Janet Mills Signs Bill Preventing Maine Pharmacies from Selling Tobacco Products]
To be exempt from these prohibition, a retail establishment must have less than 26,000 square feet of customer-accessible retail area and be operated primarily as a grocery store.
Pharmacies in these grocery stores must operate as a “separately demised, leased space under a written lease and holds a separate pharmacy license.”
Furthermore, the lease agreement between the pharmacy and the grocery store must have been established prior to July 7, 2025, when the original regulation was signed into law by the governor.
In addition to this, all of the grocery store’s tobacco sales would need to be made outside of the pharmacy’s leased premises, through the grocery store’s separate point of sale system, and from the store’s separate inventory.
After being unanimously recommended for passage by the Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee, lawmakers in both the House and Senate approved the bill by a voice vote.
Since LD 2134 was designated as an emergency piece of legislation, it will be able to take immediate effect, bypassing the typical 90-day waiting period following the end of the legislative session.
Unlike regular bills, however, emergency measures must be passed by at least a two-thirds margin in both chambers.
