McConnell, Kaine Team up in Bipartisan Effort to Raise Tobacco Age to 21

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose home state of Kentucky was long one of the nation’s leading tobacco producers, introduced bipartisan legislation Monday to raise the minimum age for buying any tobacco products from 18 to 21.

The chamber’s top Republican, who said he was making enactment of the bill “one of my highest priorities,” issued his proposal at a time when the use of e-cigarettes is growing and underage vaping has soared, raising concerns by health expert s. The measure would apply to all tobacco products,...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced new legislation on Monday that would raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products nationwide to 21.

The bipartisan pair, who both hail from states that have relied on tobacco as a cash crop for generations, said their proposal is driven in large part by the dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes and vaping devices by teenagers.

“We’ve heard from countless parents who have seen the youth vaping crisis firsthand, and together, Senator Kaine and I are...