After weeks of proposals, revisions and a delayed vote, the Evanston City Council unanimously passed an ordinance on Monday night that bans the sale of tobacco or nicotine delivery products to anyone under the age of 21. The move has garnered extra attention since Evanston is home to Northwestern University, which has a large number of students who will now be affected by the change.

An earlier version of the bill called for possession of tobacco products by persons under 21-years-old to be a crime, but several members of the city council felt that went too far and requested it be struck from the proposal before they would cast a second vote for it. The ordinance puts the burden of sale on the retailer, with fines ranging between $200 and $500 for selling to a person under 21.

With the passage of Ordinance 111-O-14, Evanston is the first city in Illinois to increase the minimum purchasing age for tobacco products to 21. It will go into effect upon receiving the mayor’s signature and being published as required by law.

Evanston is located in northeastern Illinois, 12 miles north of Chicago and bordering Lake Michigan, with a population of 75,000.

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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 MLB.com, 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.