All three county commissioners said they favored the age increase. But commissioners said formal action would have to wait until county counselor John Bullock reviewed the measure, which was proposed by the LiveWell Lawrence Tobacco 21 task force and Resist, a Boys & Girls Club anti-smoking team.
Commissioners said the age increase would be mostly symbolic. There are only four stores in the county’s unincorporated areas that would be affected. One of the issues commissioners asked Bullock to review is whether the commission had any authority to regulate sales at Clinton Marina, which is within Clinton State Park.
Tracy Russell, director of governmental relations for the Kansas branch of the American Heart Association, said more than 300 cities in the United States and 21 jurisdictions in Kansas have passed the Tobacco 21 Initiative, including Johnson and Shawnee counties. Topeka is the only jurisdiction in which the ordinance has been challenged, and the Kansas Supreme Court is expected to consider that case. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion last year that the age change falls under the home rule authority of local jurisdictions, she said.
Commissioners said the age change probably would be on its Sept. 26 agenda.
