- Published: 06 February 2018
SPRINGFIELD – A proposal to increase the age to legally purchase tobacco products in Illinois to 21 passed the Senate Public Health Committee this afternoon. State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) is sponsoring the plan and was joined by Highland Park High School Assistant Principal Dr. Steven Tucker, who testified in support of raising the age to purchase tobacco.
“From my lens, as a school leader and administrator, there is nothing more important that my deans have to deal with than the discreetness, the violation and the consequences for students who are using and abusing tobacco or tobacco-related products,” said Dr. Steven Tucker, Assistant Principal at Highland Park High School.
Morrison’s plan, contained in Senate Bill 2332, would make Illinois the sixth state to raise the age to buy tobacco to 21. Fourteen Illinois jurisdictions – including Highland Park, Deerfield, Buffalo Grove and unincorporated Lake County – have all adopted local Tobacco 21 ordinances.