A bill that would have raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 in the state of Idaho was defeated earlier today in a Senate committee.

The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 5-4 against S.B. 1106, a bill that would have not only raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco, but fined those found trying to purchase tobacco underage. The fine, a $17.50 penalty, was mocked during the hearing. It was somewhat of a rare proposal as most fines in this type of legislation are assessed only to those found guilty of selling tobacco to those under the minimum purchasing age.

Retailers would continue to face fines starting at $100 for selling to an underage person, an amount that goes to $400 for second and third offenses and can come with a suspension of one’s tobacco sales permit.

California and Hawaii are the only two states where you must be 21 to purchase tobacco, though a variety of states have active bills that seek to change their respective laws.

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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.