Two senators are introducing a bill to close what they call the "little cigar" loophole.

Sens. Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, and Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, said the legislation would reclassify little cigars as cigarettes, subjecting them to the same taxes and regulations. They said the measure also would help keep cheap, candy-flavored tobacco products out of the hands of kids.

Cigarettes and little cigars are almost identical. Both are filtered, come in packs of 20 and are similar in weight and size. The difference is little cigars have tobacco in the rolling paper, turning it brown.

That technicality allows them to escape proper taxation, Nelson said. Little cigars are sold for less than $2 a pack, compared with around $5 for a pack of cigarettes.