Legislation that would raise the age to 21 for buying cigarettes, other tobacco products and e-cigarettes in Utah narrowly advanced from a House committee on Tuesday.
In a strange reversal of the expected, Rep. Steve Eliason’s bill had the support of retailers and JUUL Labs, an e-cigarette company, while drawing opposition from Utah’s local health departments.
Eliason told the House Business and Labor Committee that passing a so-called tobacco 21 law in Utah could help stop teens from getting addicted to nicotine while their brains are still developing.
“It’s no coincidence that 95 percent of adult smokers begin smoking before the age of 21,” Eliason, a Sandy Republican, said.