How old do you have to be to buy a lighter in Michigan

BUSINESS

Detroit Free Press

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Michigan 18-year-olds can vote, buy rifles or register for the military draft, yet they are now too young to legally buy cigarettes or vaping devices.

The federal minimum age for purchasing any tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, jumped to 21 on Dec. 20, when President Donald Trump signed a $1.4 trillion spending bill that had the tobacco age restriction tucked into it. 

The new minimum age took effect immediately, which came as a surprise to many retailers who expected some type of transition period. The timing of the rule change — shortly before Christmas — was also unexpected.

There is still confusion among Michigan officials regarding when the new age restriction will start being enforced. Some stores and gas stations still display signs showing 18 as the age for tobacco products.

However, some merchants have gone ahead and raised their minimum purchase age to 21 to avoid any potential trouble with authorities.

"A lot of people are aware of it and angry," said Hamze Ezzeddine, a manager at a Shell station on Woodward Avenue in Midtown Detroit that is near Wayne State University. Ezzedine sells a lot of cigarettes and sees many young customers who are students.

A spokeswoman for the Michigan Attorney General's Office said Thursday their office is awaiting further guidance about the new regulation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's tobacco division. The FDA did not respond to a Free Press request for comment, but its website says the law is now in effect.

The Michigan Retailers Association has recommended that its members begin following the new federal rule and stop selling tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to those under 21, said Amy Drumm, the association's vice president of government affairs.

The association is waiting to learn whether Michigan officials intend to immediately enforce the new rule, Drumm said.

 "There is still a lot of confusion," she said.

A spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services said that because the new 21-plus federal law is more restrictive than current Michigan law for tobacco sales, no separate amendment or state statute is necessary for enforcement to begin.

More:FDA officially raises federal minimum age to purchase all tobacco products from 18 to 21

More:FDA bans mint and fruit flavored vaping products but exempts menthol and tobacco

Fruity vape pods ban

There are more federal regulations for smokers on the horizon. The FDA said Thursday that it will soon ban fruit- and mint-flavored pod products used in e-cigarettes, while allowing vape shops to still sell flavors from tank-based systems, which let people mix their own vaping juice. The pods are considered more convenient.

The ban, aimed at curtailing youth vaping, will take effect in 30 days and will not apply to menthol- and tobacco-flavored products. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer banned flavored vapes earlier this year but that was put on hold this fall by a court injunction.

Bring an ID

Nathan Esquivel, owner of the Corktown Smoke Shop in Detroit, said he stopped selling any cigarettes or vaping products to 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds as soon as he heard about the new federal 21-plus rule.

“Now everyone needs to be ID’d if they look under 30,” he said. 

Esquivel said his shop doesn't attract many young smokers, so he has not had to turn anyone away.

"They’ve all been 21 so far," he said. "I had a person call just to see, and it sounded like he already knew about the law, but he wanted to see if we didn’t know about it. He was like ‘Do I need to bring anything?' And we’re like, 'An ID. You have to be 21.' And he’s like ‘Oh, really?’     

Esquivel said the coming federal ban on fruity vaping pods will have a bigger impact on his business. Roughly 80% of his vaping sales are for fruit-flavored products, he said. Some of the flavors he had on display were frozen mango, piña colada and crème brûlée.

“Most of our people are 21 and up, but they still like the fruity vape," he said. "They’re going to have to switch over to menthol or tobacco."

Jamal Saad, manager of the Wayne Party Store on Cass Avenue, directly across from Wayne State, said he anticipates some unhappy customers when students return to campus Monday and discover that he is enforcing the 21-plus rule for vaping products.

Most of his student-age customers buy vaping products, rather than cigarettes, he said. Wayne State has a ban against any smoking or e-cigarette use on campus.

"It’s going to affect the business," he said. "This means a person who's 20 now and been smoking for one year, he’s going to buy cigarettes — he can’t."

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