JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you’re under the age of 21, you are no longer able to buy tobacco products.
President Trump signed legislation to raise the federal minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21, according to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration.
It applies to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, and vapes.
“We have gone through customers everybody who comes in under the age of 21 we’re taking their name and removing them from our VIP system,” Michael Miller, Big House Vapors owner, said.
Miller told News4Jax about 30 percent to 40 percent of his customers at his six shops are between the age of 18-20.
“We haven’t had anybody today in this location that came in but at our other location they said they ejected already seven people that are 19 or 20 years old,” Miller said.
According to the FDA, a big part of this new law is retailers complying with the federal laws and regulations to keep tobacco products out of the hands of our youth.
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The FDA said it will conduct compliance check inspections. If there’s a violation, it generally sends a warning letter to the retailer for the first time but it can lead to enforcement action including civil money penalties or no tobacco sale orders.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said raising the tobacco age to 21 will not stop the youth e-cigarette epidemic.
It said more than 5 million kids are using e-cigarettes and this epidemic gets worse every day.
The organization sent out a statement in part: Most youth e-cigarette users use flavored products and cite flavors as a key reason for their use. As long as flavored e-cigarettes remain available, kids will find ways to get them and this epidemic will continue.
Tobacco-Free Kids said 19 states have already raised the minimum age on tobacco products to 21.
The FDA said it will provide additional details on this issue as they become available.