Tobacco21 group continues push for higher tobacco age

A proposal to increase the legal minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 in Jefferson City may wind up as a ballot initiative.

At the Public Safety Committee meeting Thursday, members of the Council for Drug Free Youth presented a smoke-free youth bill aimed at increasing the age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 within Jefferson City limits. The group made the same presentation in early June to the Council Committee on Administration, where the issue was sent to the Public Safety Committee.

Several other Missouri cities have passed similar laws, including Kansas City, Independence, Grandview, Gladstone and Columbia, which passed a similar law in 2014. California and Hawaii are the only two states to make the change at the state level.

In the presentation, Council for Drug Free Youth representatives said the proposed change would help decrease smoking in those ages 15-17 by 25 percent and cited Needham, Massachusetts, which was the first city to adopt the change, as having seen a 50 percent reduction in smoking in that age group.

But the committee members present Thursday morning were evenly split on the issue, with 4th Ward Councilman Carlos Graham and 5th Ward Councilman Mark Schreiber voting to move the proposal to the full council, while 1st Ward Councilman Jim Branch and 3rd Ward Councilwoman Erin Wiseman voted against it. Second Ward Councilwoman Laura Ward was not present at Thursday's meeting.

Because of the tie, the motion to move the proposal forward failed.

Branch said he has issues with the proposal mainly because he doesn't agree with the government mandating what a person can do, noting he was against the city's smoking ban when it was first proposed and enacted.

"Where does it end?" Branch asked. "I just have an issue with it."

Wiseman said while she generally supports healthy initiatives, she has concerns about enforcement and questioned whether the council should even act on such a proposal without an initiative petition to put it on the ballot.

"I don't think it's appropriate that we mandate this" without voter support, Wiseman said.

The City Charter states an initiative petition can be started by five city voters who file with the city clerk as the petitioners' committee. Once the initial paperwork has been approved, the group can begin to collect the required signatures - 20 percent of votes cast in the last mayoral election.

Joy Sweeney, executive director of Council for Drug Free Youth, said the issue with an initiative petition process is resources, noting no other city has adopted the proposal through initiative petition. Sweeney said they would move forward with the initiative petition process if it gets to that point, but they would prefer it be done at the council level.

Graham said he would bring the proposal back to the committee next month to allow the full committee a chance to vote on it.