Bill To Raise Wyoming Tobacco Age To 21 Passes House Committee
A bill that would change Wyoming state law to require that no one under the age of 21 could legally buy tobacco or nicotine products unanimously passed the House Revenue Committee on Wednesday.
The vote in favor of Senate File 50 was 8-0, with one member excused.
Federal law already requires that anyone purchasing tobacco products must be at least 21 years old. But Wyoming law enforcement agencies are only able to enforce state laws, not federal.
That means that although selling tobacco to someone under the age of 21 is technically illegal in the state, only a federal agency such as the FBI or Food and Drug Administration has the authority to enforce the law. Some retailers selling tobacco products in Wyoming have posted signs saying they will only sell to people age 21 or older, others have not.
Senate File 50 has already passed the state Senate and now moves on to the full House of Representatives. The Revenue Committee on Wednesday also unanimously passed a companion bill, Senate File 42, which prohibits the wholesale or retail sale of any nicotine product either directly to anyone under 21 or to a vendor who does not verify that everyone purchasing the product is not at least 21.
That measure has likewise already passed the Senate and now goes on to the full House of Representatives.