Age Restrictions

Generational tobacco ban proposals are coming to America.

The proposal, which was studied by Boris Johnson’s government in 2022, will now be voted on in Parliament.

Hong Kong’s Health Bureau is surveying residents on potential new tobacco regulations encompassing everything from increased tobacco taxes to nicotine limits to a generational tobacco ban.

In addition to fines for those caught selling tobacco products to those under 21, S.B. 89 would also introduce fines for those under 21 that are caught possessing tobacco or vaping products.

Less than a year after Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a law removing fines as punishment for underage tobacco or vaping use and possession, Stitt has signed a new law reintroducing the fines as a form of punishment.

Generational smoking bans were introduced this year in California, Hawaii and Nevada. None of them have gained much traction, let alone passed.

Last year, Oklahoma’s legislature passed a bill that removed the fines for those caught violating the state’s Tobacco 21 bill. Now, it’s on the verge of reintroducing fines.

Connolly’s original bill sought to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007.

The bill would have banned the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after Dec. 31, 2002, outlawed the sale of cigarettes in 2030 and banned flavored e-cigarettes. It contained no changes for cigars.

A similar measure failed to clear the Kansas Senate last year. This act means that Kansas’ state law is now consistent with the federal Tobacco 21 statute.

This bill would bring Kansas’ state law in line with existing federal requirements, making it easier for local law enforcement to enforce the federal Tobacco 21 standard that was approved in late 2019.