After years of city, county and state legislative bodies discussing Tobacco 21 laws, the federal government ended the conversation. President Donald Trump last week signed a new law prohibiting the sale of tobacco and e-cigarette products to people younger than 21.
The new law is expected to go into effect in mid-2020, 90 days after the 180-day window for the Food and Drug Administration to update its regulations.
“It's been a concern at a local level,” said Kerry Ward, a health educator for McLeod County Public Health.
The most recent data available for Meeker and McLeod counties from the 2017 Pact for Families survey shows e-cigarette use in the past 30 days for seventh-, ninth- and 11th-graders was at 8.5 percent in Meeker County and 9.5 percent in McLeod County.
Data collected by the Minnesota Department of Health shows that in McLeod County in 2016:
- 4.2 percent of ninth-graders used cigarettes
- 16.7 percent of ninth-graders used e-cigarettes
- 8.3 percent of ninth-graders used smokeless tobacco
- 20.8 percent of ninth-graders used at least one kind of tobacco product
The data shows that for 11th-graders:
- 13.8 percent used cigarettes
- 20.7 percent used e-cigarettes
- 3.4 percent used smokeless tobacco
- 20.7 percent used at least one kind of tobacco product
Ward said changing the age from 18 to 21 means, “It's going to be harder to find someone older to purchase for them.”
Krystal Elke, manager of Outpost gas station in Hutchinson, opposes the change.
“It should stay at 18,” she said.
She believes if young adults can vote and serve in the military at age 18, they should be able to smoke.
“It all needs to change,” Elke said.
This isn't the first time local governments have faced the issue of smoking. In 2014, the McLeod County Board passed a resolution moving electronic cigarettes behind the sales counter with tobacco in stores. In another resolution, it voted to treat e-cigarettes like cigarettes, forbidding their use in workplaces, including restaurants and bars.
In 2017, the Hutchinson City Council declined to discuss in a workshop raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21. This past August, the council again declined to entertain the subject. City Council Member Steve Cook was one of the board members who pushed for the discussion.
In Litchfield, the first reading of a resolution to change the age to 21 was approved only to be rejected at the second reading for more discussion. The ordinance was drafted with help from Meeker, McLeod, Sibley Community Health.
On Monday, Cook said the change to federal law was long overdue and that he was pleased to see it receive bipartisan support. He also believes the federal government should go further with e-cigarette products.
“(There is a) big push to discontinue flavors,” he said. “Studies show most people start before 21.”
Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement that raising the age to purchase tobacco would not be enough on its own. He said laws needed to address the prevalence of flavored e-cigarette vapors that are appealing to children.
“Juul and Altria (e-cigarette companies) have hijacked the tobacco 21 issue for their own nefarious reasons and as a shield to fight efforts to prohibit flavored e-cigarettes,” he said. “The evidence is clear that flavored e-cigarettes are driving the youth epidemic.”
This past fall, President Trump also expressed interest in banning flavored e-cigarette products, but reversed from that position in November.
