LANSING, Mich. — You need to be 21 years old to drink, and soon you'll need to be the same age to smoke.
The change just became federal law and the state is thinking about making the same change.
President Donald Trump signed the change into law on Friday as a part of a $1.4 trillion spending agreement.
But the question is: will it help keep teens from getting addicted to cigarettes, dip, and other tobacco products?
There's a lot of smoking-related ideas and legislation that could affect smokers in Michigan, but one that sticks out is raising the age from 18 to 21, introduced in 2017.
"I think what most folks don't realize is these kids are already seriously addicted to nicotine, it's not just vape, they can't quit. That's one of the things about this tobacco 21 legislation...it's a good start," Mid-Michigan District Health Department Health Officer Marcus Cheatham said.
But in about nine months that won't even matter, as selling tobacco or vaping products to anyone under 21 will be illegal under federal law. Something health officials are looking forward to.
"We really needed federal legislation to move this forward, it will really help us have a uniform approach to prevention across the state."
According to a national study, 1 in 4 high school seniors admitted to vaping nicotine. Local smoke shops say a lot of that is because young people don't take into consideration the amount of nicotine they are puffing.
"We try to explain to them that this is high-nicotine, like if you are just trying to vape and not go right to cigarettes and stuff we try to say 'hey try something (with) lower nicotine'...but usually they just want the least amount of money for it," manager at Super Tobacco II Anissa Goretcki said.
She understands the point behind raising the age, but thinks kids will be able to get their hands on the products if they really want to. She also adds she isn't too worried about it affecting business.
"It's going to affect everyone, but I don't think it's going to affect us in that large of a way," Goretcki explained. "It's just a small percentage I would say for us because we do sell actual tobacco products and we do see older generations vaping too to get away from cigarettes."
Officials are just hoping the age going up will keep the products out of the younger generation's hands.
"Young people engage in risky behavior, we know that. So we have to make the world safe for them to act the way we know they're going to act," Cheatham added.
Super Tobacco told Fox 47 it is open to helping customers who have questions about the nicotine levels so people don't get too much. The health department also has a number you can call to help you quit: 1-800-784-8669.
The age change is expected to take effect early next fall.
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