Texas Senate bill by Sen. Cook prohibits youth-targeted tobacco advertising

Passed bill authored by State Sen. Molly Cook aims to restrict advertising practices that target minors with tobacco products, seeking to reduce youth exposure to such promotions, according to the Texas Legislature website.

In the Senate, 11 Democrats and 14 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, while five Republicans opposed it.

Meanwhile, in the House, 56 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted in favor, with no opposing votes.

Molly Cook introduced the bill in the Texas Senate on Friday, Feb. 14, during the 89th regular legislative session.

Cook graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2013 with a BS.

Cook, a Democrat, was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2024 to represent the state’s 15th Senate district, replacing previous state senator John Whitmire.

According to the Texas Legislature, the bill’s official text was summarized as follows: ‘Relating to prohibited signs, logos, and designs in advertising or marketing cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or other tobacco products; creating a criminal offense’.

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends the Health and Safety Code in Texas to prohibit certain advertising practices related to cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and other tobacco products. It specifically makes it a criminal offense for retailers to use signs, logos, or design marks that feature cartoon-like characters, imitate trademarks aimed at minors, include celebrity images, or resemble food products such as candy or juice. Additionally, retailers are prohibited from using decorative elements like signs, graphics, animation, or dynamic lighting that make their premises resemble a nightclub or game room. Violating these provisions constitutes a Class B misdemeanor. The law is set to take effect Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill was co-authored by Sen. Charles Perry (Republican – District 28), Sen. Paul Bettencourt (Republican – District 7), and Sen. Juan Hinojosa (Democrat – District 20), along with six other authors.

The bill received its final legislative approval on Wednesday, May 28, and was filed without the Governor’s signature on Friday, June 20.

Bills in Texas go through a multi-step legislative process, including committee review, debates, and votes in both chambers before reaching a final decision. Each session, there are typically thousands of bills introduced, but only a portion successfully navigate the process to become law.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.