Greenspoon Marder Hospitality, Alcohol & Leisure Blog: FDA Announces Minimum Age of 21 Now In Effect For Tobacco

Uncategorized Jan 6, 2020 Miami, FL

By: Louis J. Terminello, Esq.

The FDA announced last week the legal age to purchase tobacco increased from 18 to 21 years of age. Various interest groups have been promoting the age increase for some time and the notion had bi-partisan support on Capitol Hill but codifying the concept into law proved difficult, until last week.

As of December, 19 states had increased the minimum age to 21 and over 500 municipalities and the District of Colombia had similar age requirements. The federal increase in age extends to all tobacco products including e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges.

The Florida legislature, in early 2019, attempted to raise the minimum age to 21 but the bill died in May leaving 18 as the minimum age to purchase tobacco. The new federal law and FDA enforcement takes effect nationwide immediately.

Arguably, a major impetus for the change is the increasing concern over teen vaping, particularly flavored cartridges, and overall vaping health related concerns. On this matter, the FDA is moving to ban all fruit flavored vaping cartridges but appears to be willing to leave the status of menthol unchanged.

About Greenspoon Marder

Greenspoon Marder LLP is a full-service law firm with over 225 attorneys and more than 20 office locations across the United States. With operations from Miami to New York and from Denver to Los Angeles, our firm attracts some of the nation’s top talent in key markets and innovation hubs. Our core practice areas include Real Estate, Litigation, and Transactional Services, complemented by the capabilities of a full-service firm. Greenspoon Marder has maintained a spot on The American Lawyer’s Am Law 200 as one of the top law firms in the U.S. since 2015, and our goal is to provide exceptional client service by developing a thorough understanding of each client’s business needs and objectives in order to provide strategic, cost-effective solutions.

MEDIA CONTACT

Natalie Villanueva, Director of Marketing
954.333.4308 | [email protected]

This Greenspoon Marder LLP Client Alert is issued for informational purposes only and is not intended to be construed or used as general legal advice nor a solicitation of any type. Please contact the author(s) or your Greenspoon Marder LLP contact if you have any questions regarding the currency of this information. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision. Before you decide, ask for written information about the lawyer’s legal qualifications and experience.

Previous Next

News

Greenspoon Marder Hospitality, Alcohol & Leisure Blog: FDA Announces Minimum Age of 21 Now In Effect For Tobacco

Share

News & Events

News & Events