Should Legal Age to Purchase Tobacco Be Raised to 21 in Illinois?
Illinois lawmakers in Springfield will soon be seeing legislation on their desks to review involving the raising of the age to be able to purchase tobacco in the State of Illinois. That proposal is to raise the legal age to 21 from the current age of 18 in Illinois. This is not a new issue in Illinois as a measure to jump the age to 21 was passed by both chambers last year but was vetoed by then Governor Bruce Rauner.
Proponents of increasing the age limit to 21 are hopeful that new Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker will sign off on the proposal if and when it makes its way to the Governor's desk. So far some 30 Illinois cities and towns have approved ordinances to up the age limit to 21 in their communities.
So what are your thoughts? Should we leave the legal age to purchase tobacco at 18 or make it 21 years of age?