GOP Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Raise Tobacco Purchasing Age

Last week, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) introduced legislation to raise the age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 across all states and territories. The bill would also tighten the age verification of online sales of tobacco products.

The bill was introduced amid FDA’s e-cigarette crackdown on the sale of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products by retailers. Aderholt cited data from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that shows 15 to 17-year-olds are getting access to tobacco products from older friends who are legally allowed to purchase them. Meanwhile, Altria, which recently purchased e-cigarette company Juul, recently announced its support for raising the tobacco age to 21.

Meanwhile, PMAA continues to take the FDA e-cig crackdown announcement seriously because it would essentially ban flavored e-cigarette sales in convenience stores. Although, convenience stores would continue to be able to sell tobacco and mint/menthol flavored e-cigarette products, they would not be able to sell other flavored products unless minors are prohibited from entering the stores or those products are sold in a separate section of the store that minors are prohibited from accessing.

Please reach out to your lawmakers and urge them to tell the White House not to ban sales of flavored e-cigarette products at convenience stores. Click here to do so.