US: Colorado Bill Would Raise Tobacco Buying Age to 21

Source from:  AP, January 29, 2014  01/30/2014

The measure would include all tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The Colorado legislation will soon consider a bipartisan bill to raise the legal age for purchasing all tobacco products in Colorado to 21, the Denver Post reports. Currently, the legal age for cigarette buying is 18 in the state.

Under the measure, all tobacco products — cigarettes, chewing tobacco, cigars and electronic cigarettes, for example — would be ineligible for purchase by anyone under 21. The proposal does not alter the fines currently on the books for selling tobacco to a minor or buying tobacco as a minor.

In Colorado, Sens. John Kefalas and Steve King are sponsoring the bill in the Senate, while Reps. Cheri Gerou and Beth McCann are the House sponsors. “Drinking is 21. Marijuana is 21. Gambling is 21. We're just making tobacco 21 also,” said King. “It's a consistency across those laws.”

Hawaii County in Hawaii and New York City recently increased the minimum age for tobacco buying to 21, with Utah and Maryland legislatures slated to discuss raising the age this year. Enditem