PORTLAND, Maine - The Portland City Council has unanimously voted to authorize its Health and Human Services Committee to draft an ordinance that would raise the minimum age to buy tobacco in the city.
Once the ordinance increasing the minimum age from 18 to 21 is completed, it would then return to council for a public hearing and subsequent vote.
If the law is passed, Portland would become the first municipality in Maine to increase the legal age for buying tobacco.
The proposal's new minimum age requirement would also apply to purchasing electronic cigarettes. It does not affect the minimum age to possess or use tobacco, which will remain at 18.
The U.S. Surgeon General's office says nearly 90 percent of adult smokers started the habit before turning 18.