Following similar pieces of aged-based legislation in New York City and various areas of Massachusettes, one Maryland state senator is introducing legislation to raise the legal smoking age to 21. Sen. Jennie M. Forehand, D-Rockville, said she will introduce legislation to raise the legal age of smoking to 21.

While Forehand has already pre-filed a bill prohibiting smoking in vehicles when children are present, it’s unclear how long she will wait to formally introduce the legislation.

In New York City, smoking will not be prohibited under the new law, which goes into effect in May, only purchasing of tobacco. It’s unclear if Forehand seeks to prohibit purchasing from those ages 18-20.

Forehand has announced she will not seek a tenth term in office, forgoing the 2014 election. 

Currently, the legal smoking age in Maryland is 18.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.