An east Arkansas county has become to first in the state to raise the age to buy and use tobacco from 18 to 21, according to a news release.
The Phillips County Quorum Court voted in July to raise the minimum age, an employee at the office of County Judge Clark Hall said Thursday. The law went into effect this week, according a news release from the Family & Youth Enrichment Network's People for Tobacco-Free Communities Project.
Hall said in the release that county officials were concerned about the population's health.
"We want to do whatever we can to help improve this," he said. "We especially want to discourage our youth from taking up a bad habit that just won't serve them well in the long run."
The policy prevents 18- to 20-year-olds from buying or using tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes and tobacco paraphernalia, in unincorporated areas of Phillips County, the release said.
Any retailer who sells tobacco products to people younger than 21 can be fined $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second offense and $1,500 for subsequent offenses. People 21 and older who buy tobacco for those younger than 21 can be fined $300 for a first offense, $600 for a second offense and $1,000 for repeated violations.
The county also was home to the first city in the state to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco. The Helena-West Helena City Council voted to raise the purchasing age to 21 in 2016.
NW News on 09/01/2018