Earlier this week, the Finney County Commission narrowly approved a proposal to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21-years-old, a change that will go into effect shortly into the new year.

The five member council voted 3-2 in favor of it, according to a report from GCTelegram.com, making the Finney the fifth county and the 23rd municipality to enact such an increase, a list that is headlined Kansas City. However, when Topeka tried to pass a similar increase, it was challenged by a retail operation and the case is slated to go before the state’s Supreme Court.

The increase is currently scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 5, 2019.

Finney County is home to approximately 37,000 residents and is located in the western part of the state. Its capitol city, Garden City, is located 375 miles west of Kansas City.

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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.