Tobacco 21 Law In Effect in Bemidji

The Tobacco 21 law in Bemidji has gone into effect today.

The ordinance raised the tobacco buying age to 21. The purchasing age of tobacco and tobacco products was previously 18 and older.

With the new ordinance, stores like Northland Vapor Company are expecting to lose 30% of their customers and revenue.

“It will be a little bit of a hit, but we hope to make up with our CBD sales,” Northland Vapor Company Manager Alyshea Casey said. “Because I had to call and verify, but CBD is not classified under the Tobacco 21 ordinance, so that’s good.”

Casey says that on Friday over 100 people came to the store to stock up on products before the ordinance took effect.

Bemidji City Council passed the ordinance in March and there isn’t a grandfather clause. A customer says he doesn’t agree with the ordinance.

“You can still smoke cigarettes and chew tobacco, but you can’t buy it here in town, but you can go anywhere else and still get it, so I don’t really get the point of what it is because people are still going to do it,” David Forte said.

The ordinance will take effect in parts of Beltrami County on May 1st.