Although both of the bills passed easily, aldermen debated it for roughly an hour. 25th Ward Alderman Shane Cohn was especially vocal on Thursday, going to the microphone three times to state his opposition.

While calling cigarettes and their associated health risks, “absolutely horrible,” Cohn argued that anyone old enough to vote for president or go to war should be allowed to buy tobacco and nicotine products.

“Why are we infantilizing” 18-year-olds, he asked.

Scott Ogilvie, alderman from the 24th Ward, said it didn’t make sense that an 18- or 19-year old could buy an AR-15 rifle but not cigarettes.

“I detect the air of paternalizing here in our public health,” he said.

Cohn and Ogilvie cast the only two “no” votes on the bill dealing with tobacco products. The vote to raise the purchase age on tobacco alternatives passed unanimously.

In defending both bills, Flowers acknowledged that raising the tobacco purchasing age to 21 from 18 won’t prevent a determined young person from using tobacco or alternative products, but she said it would make a dent.