SENATE PANEL APPROVES BILL TO RAISE SMOKING AGE

Washington — A Senate panel approved a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would raise the country’s smoking age to 21 from 18, a step the measure’s sponsors hailed as progress toward combating the rise in youth vaping.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved the Tobacco-Free Youth Act, which was co-sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

It remains unclear when the measure will be brought to the Senate floor.

The measure would make it illegal to sell a tobacco product to any person under 21 years old in all states. It would include military personnel, a category that is exempted in some states that have raised the legal age.