Rep. Steve Eliason is pushing to raise Utah’s minimum age for tobacco purchases to 21 across the state, a move he hopes would prevent people from getting hooked on cigarettes and vape pens in their formative years.
But there’s some opposition to his legislation, and it’s coming from a somewhat surprising source — the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
Yes, the action network supports increasing the smoking age, says Brook Carlisle, the group’s government relations director for Utah, even as it fights to increase the age through city ordinances.
Speak about Eliason’s bill, she said, “I think for us, the devil’s in the details.