Momentum builds on Naperville panel to raise tobacco age to 21 builds
Naperville officials who are considering raising the age to buy tobacco to 21 know it won't change the rules in nearby towns or stop all teens from finding a way to smoke.
But several on the liquor and tobacco commission say it doesn't matter. Smoking is a major health risk and preventing it is worth whatever it takes, they say.
"Anything we can do to make it more difficult to get cigarettes is a step in the right direction," commission member Joe Vozar said. "It may not be a big enough step, but it's a step."
The commission next month will consider two potential ordinance changes: one that would prohibit the purchase, possession and use of tobacco products in the city by anyone younger than 21, and another that would only outlaw the purchase. Both would create an exception for licensed hookah lounges, where the minimum age would remain 18.
"We need laws like this as an additional weapon in our arsenal to keep cigarettes out of the hands of youth as long as possible," Naperville parent Jason Pryz said.
Chicago, Evanston and Oak Park already have raised the tobacco age to 21 within their jurisdictions, and there is a bill in the state House that could make the same change across Illinois. But Pat Lord of Geneva, who works as a Naperville city attorney, said she doesn't trust the state will take action soon enough.
"There's an age problem here. There's a maturity problem that affects whether you can make the right decision," Lord said.
The most recent Surgeon General's report on preventing tobacco use among young adults and teens found 90 percent of smokers start before age 18, and 99 percent before age 26. So raising the age to 21 could be a useful deterrent, Lord said.
The main concern in Naperville is whether municipal government is the right level at which to address the legal tobacco age. Commission member Chuck Maher said the responsibility falls to the state, so Naperville should invite its state lawmakers to explain their efforts to pass the bill that's sitting in the House.
"Going at this one community at a time is not good for business," Maher said. "It's not good policy."
Others, though, say the state listens best when municipalities act first and prove what residents want.
"Let's set the pace," liquor and tobacco commission member James Ostrenga said. "I think we could start something that would be very important for the safety of the children."