Ohio's age to buy tobacco increases to 21

SANDUSKY — Ohioans now have to be 21 or older to buy tobacco products.The new "Tobacco 21" law went into effect on Thursday, raising the age to purchase tobacco and alternative nicotine products from 18 to 21, according to the state health department."Evidence suggests that nicotine use during adolescence and young adulthood has long-term impacts on brain development, and tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.," Ohio Department of Health director Amy Acton said. "Raising the sales age for tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21 means that those who can legally obtain these products are less likely to be in the same social networks as high school students."Products covered by the new law include cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vapes, tanks, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, snus, dissolvable nicotine products, filters, rolling papers, pipes, blunts and hemp wraps, the release states. Liquids and components for electronic smoking devices are also included.Some products not included in the law are drugs and devices used to help people quit tobacco, like nicotine gums and patches.The change comes after a series of vaping-related illnesses across the country. An earlier version of the bill included a "grandfathering" clause for people who turned 18 before Oct. 17, but that clause was vetoed by Gov. Mike DeWine, according to the state health department. Law changesStores must post signs stating it's illegal to sell tobacco and alternative nicotine products to anyone younger than 21. It also limits locations that can have cigarette vending machines.A clerk and owner of a store responsible for selling tobacco to someone younger than 21 can be charged with a fourth-degree misdemeanor — punishable with up to 30 days in jail and a fine up to $250 — and the business can be fined $2,000, according to the release.But there is an exception to the law. Someone can distribute tobacco products to someone younger than 21 if the person under 21 is participating in a clinical research project, according to the new law. The person under 21 must have parental consent and the project must be approved by a review board.The law does state that a child can use, possess or purchase tobacco products if they do so while accompanied by a parent, spouse or legal guardian older than 21, which is a continuation of a previous state smoking law. And if an employee sells tobacco to a person under 21 who is being accompanied by a parent, spouse or legal guardian older than 21 — or they buy from the parent, spouse or guardian themselves — the employee and their business could have a legal defense to any potential criminal violations.The new law includes "affirmative defenses" for those scenarios, meaning someone charged with a crime can prove they have no criminal liability, according to information from the Cornell Law School. An example of an affirmative defense would be if someone charged with murder proves the act was done in self-defense.Additionally, the new law doesn't prohibit people younger than 21 from handling tobacco or vaping products as a part of their job.The penalty for someone between the ages of 18 and 21 who gives false information about their age to get tobacco products is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, the law states.Reach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterIn this Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 file photo, a woman using an electronic cigarette exhales in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.