WASHINGTON – A bill that will fund the government through the rest of the year includes a provision to raise the age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 years old, including e-cigarettes, a source with knowledge of the matter said to NBC News Monday.
For years, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has pushed for the 21 and older standard. Recently, it gained momentum with support from senators on both sides of the aisle. Todd Young, R. Indiana, and Mitt Romney, R. Utah, have been pushing for the 21-and-older standard.
Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky. ), from the tobacco-growing Bluegrass State, has embraced this idea.
According to the Preventing Smoking Addiction Foundation, there are now laws in 19, the District of Columbia, and Guam that prohibit the sale of tobacco to anyone under 21 years old.
CORRECTION (16.12.2019, 1:59 pm): In an earlier version of this piece of writing, the name of one Republican senator working on the subject was incorrect. Mitt Romney of Utah is the correct person to contact. Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania was incorrect.