Bill would raise legal age of tobacco, nicotine purchase to 21

A Senate committee last week passed a bill that would raise the minimum age someone can buy tobacco and other nicotine products from 18 to 21 years old.

Under current law, anyone 18 or older can purchase nicotine products. The bill, SB1727, which passed with with bipartisan support in a 13-1 vote in the Courts of Justice Committee, would change that.

Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, has expressed support for such a change.

Virginia has historical ties to the tobacco industry, but the rise in teenage vaping is causing concern over youth access to nicotine products.

In 2014, e-cigarettes surpassed traditional cigarettes to become the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students in the United States, according to the FDA. By 2017, more than two million teenagers were using e-cigarettes.

Officials at Altria – one of the largest tobacco producers in the world and headquartered in Henrico County – support the bill.

“We agree that the current trends in underage e-vapor use must be promptly addressed,” the company statement sent via email read. “While tobacco use among persons under 18 is at historic lows, underage e-vapor use has increased alarmingly and FDA has characterized this trend as an epidemic.”

Altria invested $12.8 billion in e-cigarette maker Juul at the end of last year, taking a 35 percent stake in the company.

Altria’s statement said raising the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products “will address the main way underage youth gain access to tobacco products today — from friends who are of legal age.”

But Yan Gleyzer, owner of Vape Guys, a vape store in Colonial Heights, said that raising the age will not solve the problem.

“Cigarettes are the main issue,” Gleyzer said. “Kids start smoking when they are 14, 15 years old. But by preventing them from purchasing e-cigarettes when they turn 18, we won’t be able to give them an alternative to stop smoking.”

Gleyzer said that while vape stores strictly enforce age restrictions, gas stations and convenience stores will continue to sell to underage customers.

“Teenagers will be teenagers,” he said, and they will find a way to bypass the law.

Gleyzer estimates that if the bill goes through, his business will lose about 10 percent of its clients.

If the bill passes, Virginia will join six other states – California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, Hawaii and Maine – that have recently raised the tobacco age to 21.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for a vote.