MERIDEN — The city joined other municipalities this week by raising the tobacco-purchasing age from 18 to 21.

The City Council voted 8-2 Monday to approve an ordinance raising the age to purchase all tobacco products, including vaping devices, from 18 to 21. Proponents say it will help discourage young people from becoming addicted to nicotine.

City Health Director Lea Crown said last week that tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States.

“Increasing the sale age for tobacco products to 21 is a promising intervention to reduce youth tobacco use initiation, and a way to reduce the staggering healthcare cost, death, and suffering from tobacco-related illness,” she said

In December, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams declared vaping an epidemic, citing statistics that show teen use of e-cigarettes increased by 78 percent in the past year. He also urged municipalities to take action, such as bans on indoor vaping and retail restrictions.

The ordinance will protect the health of Meriden’s middle and high school students, said Democratic Councilor Larue Graham, chairman of the council’s Human Services Committee, which the approved raising the age earlier this month.

Wallingford and Southington have also voted to raise their tobacco purchasing age to 21.

Meriden’s resolution will take effect within 180 days. A person or business who sells tobacco to someone under 21 would be issued a written warning, followed by fines of $100 and $250 for a second and third offense.

Minority Leader Dan Brunet, a Republican, and Deputy Minority Leader Walter Shamock, of We the People, were only votes against raising the age. Democrat Sonya Jelks and We the People councilors Joseph Carabetta III did not attend the meeting.

Brunet said while smoking is very bad, it’s “inherently wrong” that individual municipalities can “make up any type of resolution in regards to certain products.” Raising the tobacco-purchasing age should be left up to state and federal government, he added.

“Diabetes is a big concern. Are we going to start taxing and regulating fast food chains? This is a slippery slope we should not be going down,” Brunet said.

He went onto to argue that 18 to 21-year-olds are old enough to join the military, so they should be permitted to smoke.

“At 16 years old, we give them a drivers license to drive a 2-ton vehicle down the street. We don’t have a problem with that. I just find it wrong,” Brunet said.

Mayor Kevin Scarpati countered Brunet’s contention that individual cities shouldn’t take up something better left for the state and federal governments by pointing out Brunet recently sponsored a council resolution opposing statewide implementation of tolls.

Brunet responded by saying it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison because his resolution was nonbinding and was a “statement to the city about tolls,” not a city-wide regulation.

mzabierek@record-journal.com

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Twitter: @MatthewZabierek