Senate passes bill raising age to purchase tobacco

Aiming to prevent young West Virginians from smoking, the Senate passed a comprehensive tobacco bill that includes increasing the age to purchase tobacco products to 21 and making it a crime to smoke in a vehicle with a child present.

"This is probably the biggest public health bill that has come out of the Senate in my time, said Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone and a physician. "It's a good day for public health in West Virginia.

The bipartisan bill did not pass unanimously, with some Republican senators saying the bill infringed on the rights of West Virginians. Sen. Mike Azinger, R-Wood, called the bill "Orwellian.

Along with raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21, on par with the age to purchase alcohol, the bill adds language to better define e-cigarettes and vape products and increases fines for...