Baltimore Wants to Ban Individual Sales of Cheap Cigars

Hoping to curb the increase in the number of young people who smoke small, inexpensive cigars, Baltimore plans to bar shops from the common practice of breaking open packages to sell them individually.

Health officials are alarmed by the growing popularity, especially among black urban teenagers and young adults, of cigarillos, “little cigars” that are often sweetly flavored and filtered. One recent survey of 18- to 24-year-olds in Baltimore found that 24 percent had smoked them within the previous 30 days.

The city has put the proposal out for public comment until July 1 and expects to impose the ban, possibly with revisions, soon after.

[Read](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/us/31cigar.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin “Read the Article”) (New York Times)