Now You Must Be 21 To Buy Tobacco in Chicago

 Posted on August 04,2016 in Criminal Defense

The City of Chicago is about to make some big changes to its sale of tobacco laws. Joining approximately 170 other local jurisdictions and major cities across the country, on July 1st, young Chicagoans will have to wait until they are 21 years old before they can legally buy tobacco products and accessories within the city. It does not matter the type of tobacco product: the sale of cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco and pipe tobacco to people under the age of 21 is prohibited. Buying tobacco while underage is not just a juvenile offense anymore. If the law change is effective in reducing the number of young people who are smoking, by limiting legal access to tobacco products, state lawmakers have already indicated that they would consider making a similar law change state-wide.

Why Was The City Law Changed?

For many years, legislators have been concerned about the health and safety of young people. The Chicago City Council, in particular, has worried about smoking and tobacco addiction rates amongst young Chicagoans for quite some time. The main concern is that young people do not have fully developed brains before entering their twenties and this can leave young people particularly vulnerable to nicotine addiction.

The Goal Is To Keep Youths Away From Tobacco Products

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that almost 90 percent of people who smoke tobacco products had their first cigarette by the time they were 18 years old, which means that change in the smoking age in Chicago could help prevent young people from getting access to tobacco products. Additionally, e-cigarettes are in vogue now, and many people have also taken up using a hookah as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. Chicago feels that its youth has too many alternative options available for them to consume nicotine, which prompts these young people to develop an addiction early in life. Beating a nicotine addiction can be hard and many fail repeatedly at quitting smoking.

By limiting the sale of tobacco products to people who are 21 years of age or older, young, undeveloped brains might be spared from easily forming an addiction to nicotine.

Despite the change in the law concerning who tobacco products can be sold to, the law has not changed with regard to who can sell tobacco products – an employee who is under the age of 21 is permitted to handle and sell tobacco products to a purchaser who is 21 or older. Sellers are required to post signage in their stores about the change in the tobacco sales law. The city changed its tobacco sales regulations in March and became effective July 1st.

Reach Out to Us for Help

As of now, young people between the ages of 18 and 21 are prohibited from buying tobacco in Chicago. If you need a criminal defense lawyer, please contact aRolling Meadows criminal defense attorneyimmediately. Our legal professionals are eager to assist you with your case.

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