No Smoking In Bolingbrook Unless You Are 21

BOLINGBROOK, IL - If you walk into a bar and order a beer or a shot of whiskey, you won't be served unless you're 21 years of age. But the rules for smoking cigarette products have always been more lenient. Most states allow teenagers to buy cigarettes, cigars or other tobacco products at 18 years of age. However, the village of Bolingbrook, led by Mayor Roger Claar, decided to be a trailblazer. Bolingbrook became Will County's first so-called "Tobacco 21" community, according to a press release issued Friday by the Will County Health Department.

Under Bolingbrook's new ordinance, it is now illegal for a business to sell tobacco products to someone under the age of 21. And the new ordinance does not just pertain to regular cigarettes, but also encompasses cigars, chewing tobacco and e-cigarettes and vaping devices as well.

“Actually, we were all thinking ‘why didn’t we do this sooner,'" Mayor Claar said in a press release issued by Will County's Health Department. The long-time mayor of Bolingbrook went on to explain that, “There’s a ton of statistics that show smoking often begins between the ages of 15 and 21. But if they don’t have access to tobacco, the chance that they’ll start dramatically goes down. It’s a lot easier for a 15-year-old to get tobacco from someone who’s 18 than from someone who’s 21.”

According to the health department, a 2016 Illinois Youth Survey found that 39 percent of Will County's high school seniors had used tobacco products within the last 30 days.

While Bolingbrook becomes the first community in Will County to make 21 the law for buying tobacco products in their community, a number of other communities have also adopted similar laws including: Evanston, Oak Park, Hyde Park, Naperville, Deerfield, Maywood, Lincolnshire, Vernon Hills, Berwyn, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove, Mundelein, Riverwood, Unincorporated Lake County and Chicago, the Will County Health Department reported.

Image of Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar via village of Bolingbrook