Federal Government raises minimum age for tobacco products from 18 to 21 years of age
TidBitTuesday
by Sublette County Sheriff’s Office
January 2, 2020
December 31st 2019:
There have been a lot of calls to our office regarding the recent passing of legislation by President Trump regarding raising the minimum age from 18 to 21 when it comes to tobacco products. What does this mean for Sublette County residents? We will try to explain this the best we can as there has been little guidance on this new law and how it will be enforced.
Below is the news release from the FDA website:
On December 20, 2019, the President signed legislation to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and raise the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years. It is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product – including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes – to anyone under 21. FDA will provide additional details on this issue as they become available.
In short, if the federal government were to come in and conduct a compliance check on a retail store and discover that they have been selling tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21, that retailer could be issued a violation.
As well, under federal law, it is now illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to possess any tobacco products. However, state law enforcement officers, i.e. Sublette County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, can’t enforce federal law. We can only enforce Wyoming state law. Wyoming state law currently allows people ages 18 and older to purchase tobacco products. The Wyoming Governor would have to sign legislation which has passed the House and Senate upping the legal age from 18 to 21 before it would become state law and enforceable by us. There is currently a bill in legislation that was advanced back in September by state lawmakers to do exactly that. If passed, it would not go in to effect until the latter part of 2020.
If there is any new information either from the FDA or the State of Wyoming Health Department we will try and keep everyone informed. We will keep you apprised of the legislative bill progression within Wyoming as we have new information.
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