Today the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) advised its retail members to will immediately stop selling to anyone under the age of 21 following an announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Federal Government raising the tobacco purchase age to 21.
The FDA issued the following statement on its website:
“On December 20, 2019, the President signed legislation to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and raise the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years. It is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product – including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes – to anyone under 21. FDA will provide additional details on this issue as they become available.”
The legislation that went into law gave the FDA the power to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The FDA has 180 days to publish that final rule. This must include language specifying the minimum age to legally purchase tobacco products to 21 and language mandating age verification for individuals under 30. The new regulations will take effect no later than 90 days after the final rule is published.
In a statement to its members following the FDA statement, the PCA said, “The PCA recommends ceasing tobacco sales to persons under 21 immediately as per the statement by the Food & Drug Administration.”
Raising the age at a national level to age 21 was included as a part of a 1.4 trillion dollar spending bill passed by both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate before being signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on December 20th.
