February 11, 2017 Charlie Minato Age Restrictions,  Regulations

Arizona Tobacco Purchasing Age Hike Halted

A bill that would have raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 in the state of Arizona was defeated—by a single person.

Rep. Jeff Weninger, R-Chandler, put a halt to the proceedings. The House Commerce Committee chairman said he thought adults, individuals who are 18 or older, should have the right to make adult decisions. As such, he refused to allow a hearing on the bill.

H.B. 2325 had bipartisan support. It was introduced by Rep. Paul Boyer, R-20; Heather Carter, D-15; and Douglas Coleman, R-16.

As of now California and Hawaii are the only states with laws requiring individuals to be 21 to purchase tobacco, though a host of other states are currently debating similar measures.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Rep. Paul Boyer as a Democrat; he is a Republican. We regret the error.

Arizona H.B. 2325 Jeff Weninger tobacco purchasing age
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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.

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