St. Paul is considering setting a new minimum price of $15 for a pack of cigarettes, a move that would bring the city in line with a policy already in place across the river in Minneapolis. The proposal under discussion would establish a per-pack price floor.
The idea was reported by FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, which noted that the proposed $15 minimum mirrors the cigarette pricing policy already in place in Minneapolis. St. Paul is no stranger to this kind of regulation. The city council unanimously enacted a sweeping tobacco ordinance back in November 2021 that established a $10 minimum price floor per pack of cigarettes and standard cans of moist snuff, while also prohibiting coupon redemptions and price discounting on all commercial tobacco and vaping products, according to Counter Tobacco. That 2021 measure combined a price floor with an e-cigarette discount prohibition.
Minneapolis Set the $15 Benchmark in 2024
Minneapolis got there first. The city council there unanimously passed an ordinance in April 2024 setting a $15 minimum retail price floor for packs of cigarettes, four or more cigars, and certain-size snuff or snus packages, per MPR News. The move created one of the highest government-mandated price floors for cigarettes anywhere in the country, the outlet reported.
Under these kinds of municipal price-floor regulations, the mechanism works differently than a tax. Mandatory price floors are not city taxes, meaning retail store owners retain the additional revenue generated above wholesale costs, as CBS News has reported. In Minneapolis, a public-health specialist has said that extra money could help stores cushion business disruptions.
The Health Data Behind the Push
Public health research has found that higher tobacco prices reduce demand. Pricing controls are considered by health advocates to be tools for reducing tobacco use.
Any local price floor stacks on top of existing state taxation. Minnesota's cigarette-tax total rose from $3.826 per pack to $3.88 in 2026, according to the Tax Foundation. Minnesota automatically adjusts its cigarette sales tax rate every January 1 based on average retail pricing.
Retail Licensing Has Already Tightened
St. Paul has been narrowing the number of places that can sell tobacco at all. Under city code revisions passed in April 2024, the city capped its allowable general retail tobacco licenses at 100 and dedicated tobacco product shop licenses at 15, while maintaining a half-mile buffer requirement between tobacco retailers, according to the City of Saint Paul. Counter Tobacco reported that the new caps were reduced from a current combined total of 242 licenses.
Statewide, the trend lines on smoking have been moving in one direction. Minnesota's adult smoking rate fell to 12.2% in 2023, representing about 541,300 adults, and declined 6.2% from 2022, according to Tobacco Harm Reduction 101. Commercial tobacco use remains an issue despite the decline.
A Regressive Burden, Critics Say
Not everyone views price floors as an unambiguous win. Data from the Minnesota Department of Health shows that 23.4% of Minnesota adults earning $25,000 or less per year were current smokers in 2023, compared to just 8.1% among adults earning $50,000 or more. Critics argue that mandatory price hikes act as a regressive financial burden on low-income individuals struggling with addiction.
Critics have raised concerns about municipal price floors, while public health advocates point to data on reduced youth initiation and adult consumption tied to higher prices.
Minneapolis Has Kept Expanding Its Rules
Minneapolis hasn't stood still since 2024. The city's 2024 ordinance did not cover tobacco vapes. Youth vaping remains a policy focus in Minneapolis, according to the City of Minneapolis.
State enforcement has also ramped up. In July 2026, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County Court against e-cigarette manufacturer Maduro Distributors, known as Loon, for unlawfully selling youth-appealing flavored vapes in violation of state consumer protection laws, according to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. The lawsuit concerns youth-appealing flavored vapes.
St. Paul's consideration of a $15 minimum comes as the latest step in a multi-year regional push across the Twin Cities to reduce commercial tobacco use through point-of-sale regulation. The city set its $10 floor and coupon ban in 2021, and Minneapolis followed in 2024 with its $15 floor — a pattern St. Paul now appears poised to complete.
