Upper Arlington, Ohio Considers Minimum Tobacco Purchasing Age Increase

A one-man movement to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco, similar to the one seen in Massachusetts, could becoming to Ohio.

Dr. Rob Crane, a clinical associate professor of family medicine at The Ohio State University, joined Upper Arlington Councilman Kip Greenhill in support of a measure that would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 in the Columbus suburb.

According to ThisWeek Community News, Crane told the city council that he would begin visiting governments around the state in support of the minimum purchasing age change. That is similar to Dr. Lester Hartman, a Massachusetts-based pediatrician who has been campaigning across his state for similar legislation. To date, Hartman has been rather effective at getting laws changed at the municipal level.

Crane found additional support on the city council with Councilmen David DeCapua and Mike Schadek joining Greenhill in the proposal. The measure is expected to be formally taken up at a future meeting.

Upper Arlington is located in Franklin County, northwest of Columbus and bordering The Ohio State University. It has a population just under 35,000.

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.