HB258 increases the fines imposed, in addition to any jail term or other sanctions, for repeated violations of the federal prohibition against selling tobacco products to persons under the age of 21.
The House passed HB258 on January 10, 2024, by a vote of 83 to 8. We have assigned pluses to the nays because “public health,” including anti-tobacco initiatives, is not the role of government. This bill is just another government overreach that restricts personal freedoms and harms local businesses. It follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s unconstitutional and erroneous minimum-age requirements that deny to adult citizens younger than 21 years of age—who are eligible to vote and enlist in the military—their right to purchase tobacco. An individual’s non-injurious personal decisions over what they choose to eat, drink, or consume should not be criminalized. The Constitution’s Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment were intended to protect individual rights and free-market enterprise against such arbitrary and discriminatory acts.
