State Senator Carla Nelson is introducing a bill that would raise the age for buying tobacco and vaping products to 21 in Minnesota. Nelson, a Republican from Rochester, says it’s high time because most of the state is moving that direction. “People realized you can’t have 18-year-olds purchasing these products, whether it be alcohol or tobacco, and then of course they are the suppliers for all the rest of the kids,” she says.
Nelson’s bill does *not* include a ban on flavored e-cigs, but she says she’ll bring forward such a measure in the 2020 legislative session. Governor Tim Walz said earlier this month he supports a statewide ban on flavored tobacco products.