Oklahoma State Rep. Ben Loring, D-7, will once again try to convince his legislative colleagues to raise the minimum age to purchase and possess tobacco products and alternatives to 21-years-old, as he has pre-filed H.B. 1432 ahead of the upcoming session.
If passed, the increase would go into effect on Nov. 1, 2019.
Loring has previously sponsored similar legislation, with a 2016 bill failing to get out of the House Committee on Alcohol, Tobacco and Controlled Substances, while his attempt in 2017 died in the House Committee on Public Health.
Currently there are six states that have increased the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21-years-old: California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Oregon, though there are more than a dozen looking to join that club. including Mississippi, Washington, New Mexico, Michigan, South Carolina, Illinois, New York, Connecticut, Texas, Delaware, Virginia, Vermont, Indiana, New Hampshire and Maryland. North Dakota also has a bill that would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 19-years-old.