Hoffman Estates joins in raising smoking age to 21
Hoffman Estates village board members Monday joined several other suburban communities in approving raising the minimum age to possess tobacco and electronic smoking products to 21.
Mayor Bill McLeod compared the effort to last decade's movement by a growing number of individual communities that resulted in a statewide ban on indoor smoking in public places.
"Bluntly, a lot of progressive things happen in the Northwest suburbs that end up being statewide," McLeod said.
Among the other suburbs that already have raised the age to buy or possess tobacco and vaping products are Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Barrington, Vernon Hills and Aurora.
Under Hoffman Estates' new law, anyone under 21 found with tobacco or an electronic smoking product faces a fine of up to $250.
Anyone selling a tobacco or e-cigarette product to someone under 21 would face up to $500 in fines.
A business found guilty three times of selling such products to a customer under 21 could lose its license.