LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — A State Representative from Battle Creek wants to lift the state’s legal smoking age from 18 to 21.
Republican John Bizon and three other legislators are co-sponsoring a package of bills that would also ban cigarette vending machines, enhance hookah regulations, and increase the penalties for selling to anyone younger than 21.
Bizon says as a Doctor, he has seen the results of what smoking can do. He can’t imagine why any parent would want their child exposed to tobacco, which he says is a carcinogen.
He says 18-year-olds may be legal adults, but they are still growing and changing. He thinks the age limit should also apply to E-Cigarettes, which he sees as a gateway for future smokers.
The bi-partisan package sponsored by two Republicans and two Democrats was just introduced this week.
Ann Arbor has already adopted the older age requirement for Smoking, joining the national “Tobacco 21” movement of local communities taking action against tobacco.
