SALEM -- A proposal that would make Oregon the third state in the nation to increase its tobacco sales age to 21 achieved the final go-ahead Thursday.

This month could mark the last time that 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds can legally purchase tobacco products in the state.

House lawmakers passed the age-raising bill 39-20, with support from eight Republicans and all but three Democrats. It now heads to the Senate where lawmakers are expected to agree to House amendments. The bill, Senate Bill 754, would then go to Gov. Kate Brown for her signature, after which the sales age increase would take effect immediately.

Bill carrier Rep. Rich Vial, R-Scholls, said keeping tobacco from adults under 21 is about saving lives and money. Oregonians spend more than $3 billion a year treating tobacco-related illnesses, he said. Vial said data shows increasing the tobacco sales age to 21 would cut down on those costs and could save tens of thousands of Oregonians from death due to tobacco-related disease.

Though the bill passed comfortably, a bipartisan group of lawmakers opposed it.

Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, said the bill is a "tragic case of overreach" and "liberty theft" that could lead to "opening Pandora's box," giving legislators a precedent to regulate unhealthy conduct.

House Republican Leader Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, said he voted against the proposal not because he approves of smoking, but because he doesn't want to make unhealthy activities illegal for adults.

Though Oregon's tobacco age is likely to increase, a trip over the Columbia River would still allow adults between 18 and 21 to buy tobacco because Washington's tobacco sales age is 18.

Not so with Oregon's southern border, as California, along with Hawaii, increased its tobacco age to 21 last year.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman