St. Louis may ban sale of tobacco to people younger than 21

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is set to vote on whether to ban the sale of tobacco, electronic cigarettes and vapor products to anyone younger than 21.

The two bills were advanced Thursday and could be passed by the board as early as Nov. 18. Under the proposed legislation, the city's Department of Health can send minors into stores to test whether employees are in compliance, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

City police would have the authority to issue citations. Violators of the proposed legislation would be fined $100, $250 and $500 for first, second and third offenses, respectively.

Aldermen Shane Cohn and Scott Ogilvie were the only votes opposed to the two bills, arguing citizens who could vote for president or purchase firearms should be able to buy tobacco products.

"Why are we infantilizing" 18-year-olds, Cohn asked.

Ogilvie agreed with Cohn in that the proposed law felt like parenting.

"I detect the air of paternalizing here in our public health," Ogilvie said.

Alderwoman Dionne Flowers, who sponsored both bills, explained not only do most people get addicted to nicotine at a young age, but it's also easy for an 18-year-old high school student to legally purchase tobacco products and then share them with younger friends. Flowers added by raising the age to 21, those people's social circles have changed.

"Every day, 3,800 youth smoke a cigarette for the first time," she said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if youth smoking rates continue at their current rate, an estimated 5.6 million Americans younger than 18 will die early from smoking-related illnesses. The Institute of Medicine estimated raising the tobacco purchasing age to 21 will result in a 12 percent decrease in smoking prevalence nationwide by the year 2100.

If the proposed legislation passes, St. Louis will join St. Louis County, Kansas City, Chicago and around 200 other cities across the nation that have passed Tobacco 21, otherwise known as T21.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com