Texas Becomes 14th State to Join the Tobacco 21 Movement

AUSTIN, Texas — The list of states that increased the legal minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21 keeps growing with Texas becoming the latest to join the Tobacco 21 movement.

On June 7, Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 21 into law, prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21 years old. Military members are exempt from the change, according to Fox6Now.com.

The law goes into effect Sept. 1. Violators who sell tobacco products to consumers under 21 will face a Class C misdemeanor and a fine up to $500.

The measure reached Abbott's desk after the Texas Senate approved the legislation in mid-May, as Convenience Store News previously reported.

The Tobacco 21 movement began to take hold at the state level when Hawaii became the first state to hike the tobacco buying age to 21 on Jan. 1, 2016. Other states followed suit, including California, Oregon, New Jersey, and most recently, Delaware and Maryland.