Welcome to

Florida could soon become the 8th state in the country to raise the legal age for smoking from 18 to 21.

The restriction would also apply to vaping products.

Fewer than one in 20 teens smoked a traditional cigarette in 2017, but nearly 15% said they used an e cigarette.

13-year-old McKenzie Faust, who was touring the Capitol for kids day isn’t one of them.

“You should wait or not do it ever,” said Faust.

State Senator David Simmons says one way to keep kids like McKenzie from picking up the habit, is to raise the legal age from 18 to 21 for both cigarettes and E-cigarettes.

“The ability to abuse young people, even if they are eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years old exists because this is a very addictive product,” said Simmons.

At a committee hearing for a bill that would raise the age, vape store owners cried foul.

“It would be unfair to categorize us a tobacco product,” said vape store owner Jonathan Risteen.

But Vape manufacturers supported raising the age in a full page ad in a local Tallahassee newspaper published Tuesday morning.

“I hate tobacco,” said State Senator Aaron Bean.

Bean was the only member of the committee who voted no on raising the age.

“We have to allow people to make their own decisions,” said Bean. “I struggled with it, but I did say when you turn eighteen you’re an adult and you have to make your own decisions.”

Concerns are also being raised when it comes to taking away an already 18-year-olds’ right to smoke.

“When Florida raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 back in the mid 1980’s, no 18-year-old lost the right to drink.

The age was raised one year at a time.

The legislation faces an uphill battle in the House where personal freedom is the mantra of leadership.

While making young adults wait longer to legally smoke, the legislation also eliminates a provision in Florida law that takes away an underage teen’s drivers license if they are caught with tobacco products.