Detroit Lakes City Council Considering Changing Legal Tobacco Purchasing Age
If passed, the new laws would raise the age limit to 21 to purchase tobacco products in Detroit Lakes
DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — Detroit Lakes City Council members are meeting to discuss raising the age to 21 to purchase tobacco and vapor products.
Stopping the start: If you never start smoking, you never have to quit.
That’s the goal of Partnership for Health, a group in favor of raising the age limit to 21 years old to purchase tobacco products.
Members of the group said changing this law could make a big difference.
“Out of all the policies that are out there in tobacco control, this one has proven to be by far the best,” said Jason McCoy, a member of the Partnership for Health. “It’s been shown to reduce high school tobacco use by 25 percent, all the way up to, in some places, 50 percent within five years. With one policy, you can actually see youth use change almost immediately.”
McCoy said with the current laws allowing 18-year-olds to purchase tobacco, too many of them are purchasing cigarettes and vapes for underage children.
“Over 63 percent of them are getting them from just a senior,” McCoy added. “All they have to do is walk out onto the commons, give their money to an 18-year-old and they can walk down the block and purchase the tobacco for them. That’s how all of it gets into our high schools. That’s how it gets into our middle schools.”
But other members of the community said these new tobacco laws could cause more harm than good.
“As with any prohibition in history, it will increase use and create a black market for that age group, including in high schools,” said Jenny Hoban, a member of Tobacco Harm Reduction 4 Life.
Some said vaping is less addictive and has stopped them from smoking tobacco all together.
“If it weren’t for vaping, I would have been smoking for the last two years,” said Doug Demskey, another member of THR4L.
The Detroit Lakes City Council said they hope to make a decision in early September.
