OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — At the start of the New Year, Nebraska raised the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 19. Days before that President Donald Trump signed a bill to bump the minimum age to 21.
These changes had some confused in Nebraska.
"There was a lot of people coming that didn't understand," co-owner of Habitz Glass and Goodies Jason Brock said. "We were still trying to figure out. The people were very confused."
Brock says there was limited guidance on who they could and couldn't sell to for about a week and a half. He adds they were even in the process of creating new signage for the minimal age requirement of 19, but those plans were put on hold due to the federal level change.
"It's hard to give people direction when they come to us looking for the direction," Brock said. "We are not the ones setting the rules or the laws, yet we have to be the ones that tell them what is 'A and B' when we're still trying to figure that out our selves because of the lack of direction."
11 days after federal law went into effect, Nebraska's Attorney General Doug Peterson released a statement "advising Nebraska law enforcement and pertinent state agencies that enforcement shall be limited to enforcement of the state law, unless the Nebraska legislature changes the minimum age from 19 to 21 as suggested by the federal tobacco 21 act.'"
This means Nebraska law enforcement is to enforce the state law of 19, not the federal law at 21.
However, after talking with multiple law enforcement agencies like Omaha Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff's office, as well as tobacco shop owners, there is still some confusion.
We reached out to the Attorney General's Office for clarification, but they didn't elaborate beyond their statement.
"This happened overnight," Brock said. "I don't even know that the federal government is ready or understanding what their role even is at this point. I think those things are going to be telling and we'll find out."
He welcomes the news from Peterson, adding people are adults starting at 19-year-old and should be allowed to buy tobacco.
