Columbia, Mo. Could Be Raising Tobacco Purchase Age to 21

In the final minutes of Monday night’s Columbia City Council meeting and with the clock’s hands passing past midnight and into Tuesday morning, Councilwoman Ginny Chadwick called for a pair of tobacco related changes. One would ban the use of electronic cigarettes indoors, while the other would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21.

The council unanimously passed a motion that sends the legislative intent for Chadwick’s proposal to the city’s Board of Health and Substance Abuse Advisory Commission for review before a complete bill is presented to the council for a vote, according to the Columbia Tribune.

The article reports that Chadwick said raising the minimum age would lower the use of tobacco products by youth by making it easier to spot underage purchasers, decrease cultural acceptance of youth smoking and cut off peers’ access to the products.

Columbia is home to approximately 115,000 people and is located almost directly between Kansas City and St. Louis, about 125 miles from both cities.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.