JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It is now illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to buy tobacco products.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just going to make everything worse,” explains Josh Weeks, manager at Smoke City on Beach Blvd.
He tells Action News Jax upping the minimum age for people to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21-years-old isn’t necessary.
“They’re still going to get what they want, it’s just going to be a difference in how they obtain it,” explains Weeks.
He believes this new law will only increase illegal sales of tobacco and nicotine products off market.
“There will definitely be some black market moves on nicotine now after this law goes into effect fully. It’s going to criminalize people that otherwise weren’t criminals.”
Last week, President Donald Trump signed the bill into law raising the minimum age to 21, but the implementation was unclear.
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Then on Friday, the FDA had this message on it’s website that "it is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product -- including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes -- to anyone under 21. FDA will provide additional details on this issue as they become available."
“We’re going to wait until the law as far as I know is official which the last I heard was 2020 and sometime in the summer,” says Weeks.
I spoke to other smoke shops off camera who say they plan on waiting too. But I’m told Gate gas stations are already enforcing the 21 age law. This sign will soon be up at every location.
It’s a transition Weeks says will be hard to make.
“The only thing that will make it harder is telling 18-year-olds that they can no longer buy the products that they’ve been buying all along.”
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