A county in Oregon will be the first in the state to raise the minimum age for buying or using tobacco, according to a Eugene newspaper.
The Register Guard reports Lane County commissioners boosted the age from 18 to 21. .
While Oregon lawmakers are considering a statewide tobacco age increase, the county ordinance gave commissioners a chance to make a statement, The Register Guard reports.
The ordinance, the first in Oregon, takes effect April 13.
Lawmakers in Olympia proposed a bill in January to raise the smoking age in 21. The legal age to buy tobacco in Washington state is 18.
According to the State Department of Health, 8 percent of Washington high schoolers smoke cigarettes and 18 percent use electronic cigarettes. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network wrote in a news release that tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death, killing more than 8,300 Washingtonians annually.
California and Hawaii are the only two states with a higher age restriction for tobacco.
Cox Media Group
