State lawmakers will meet Tuesday to consider a bill that would raise the age of sale for tobacco and vape products to 21 in an effort to get North Carolina in compliance with federal law.

On average, three students vape in any given high school
classroom in our state, according to the state health department. 

In 2019, Congress increased the federal minimum legal sales age of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21.

However, the legal age to buy tobacco products in North Carolina is only 18, and North Carolina is one of only seven states that hasn’t passed a law to raise the age and make the state law compliant to the federal law.

State lawmakers also want to implement a tobacco retail
sales permit that would be used to help keep track of who’s selling
vapes.

Lawmakers will host a 10 a.m. news conference, including Donnie Loftis, R-Gaston, and Gale Adcock, D-Wake, who are lead sponsors of the bill. Teenagers are also planning to speak out against vaping and ask lawmakers for help battling youth vaping and nicotine use.

WRAL documentary investigative reporter Cristin Severance reports North Carolina is at risk of losing $5 million of federal dollars for mental health prevention, treatment and recovery services if it doesn’t effectively prevent underage sales of tobacco products to young people by the end of the year.

WRAL Documentary on teen vaping

The WRAL Documentary team has covered teen vaping in Wake County, with WRAL News crews going undercover to see if anyone would ID a young person trying to buy a vape. 

Watch “Gen V: Teen Vaping in North Carolina” here.

Charlene
Zorn, the stepmother of a 15-year-old football player who lost his life due to vaping, also plans to speak at Tuesday’s news conference. Her stepson, “Solly,” is featured in the WRAL doc.