Wisconsin lawmakers push for tobacco sale age to move to 21

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin remains one of just six states without a state law matching the federal age to purchase tobacco products at 21.

That creates an issue for local law enforcement, who cannot enforce the age 21 restriction when state law says you have to be 18 to purchase tobacco.

A group of Wisconsin lawmakers is working to change that with Assembly Bill 524, which will be in front of the Assembly Committee on State Affairs for a vote on Wednesday.

“Wisconsin’s failure to update its own law creates confusion for retailers and law enforcement who face conflicting regulations,” Rep. Jeffrey Mursau, R-Crivitz, said in a public hearing on the bill.

He said that Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa have all passed laws moving the age to purchase tobacco to 21.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Health Services said that there was a decline in tobacco sales to underage consumers from 13.6% in 2023 to 11.8% in 2024.

In 2019, when the federal law changed late in the ...