EUGENE, Ore. — Commissioners in an Oregon county say a proposed ordinance to increase the legal age for using and buying tobacco products from 18 to 21 should include a clause to exempt users who have already turned 18.
“Eighteen-year-olds who are already addicted shouldn’t have to quit cold turkey,” Lane County Commissioner Jay Bozievich said at Tuesday’s public hearing on the issue. “Let’s be fair to those who are already addicted at a legal age, rather than making their addiction illegal.”
Most of his fellow commissioners agreed, voting 4-1 to advance the ordinance with the grandfather clause, The Register-Guard reported. Final approval could come March 14, with the new age limit taking effect 30 days later.
Eric Brodell, western regional director for the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, said the grandfather clause would render the ordinance useless for its first three years.