North Carolina legislators are seeking to increase the legal age for purchasing tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21. House Bill 430 and Senate Bill 318, both titled "Protect Youth from Harms of Vaping & Nicotine," were filed on Tuesday by Rep. Donnie Loftis (R-Gaston) and Sen. Gale Adcock (D-Wake), respectively.
The proposed legislation, dubbed "Solly's Law," also aims to establish a mandatory tobacco retail sales permit for stores selling vapes and tobacco products. The bill is named in memory of Solomon "Solly" Wynn, a North Carolina teenager who died from vaping-related complications. Wynn's story and the issue of youth vaping were the focus of the "Gen V: Teen Vaping in North Carolina" documentary by WRAL.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, implementing a licensing or permitting system for tobacco product retailers is an effective way to curb sales to minors. North Carolina is one of only nine states that currently lacks such a system, despite having thousands of tobacco and vape shops operating within its borders.
Charlene Zorn, Wynn's stepmother, shared that the 15-year-old had been secretly vaping for about a year, obtaining the devices from his friends. She described the heartbreaking scene of his football team attending his funeral at their church in Wilmington. "It broke me like nothing ever has," Zorn told WRAL. "After the funeral, when they were leaving, we spoke to every child, every one of those kids and begged them, please don't vape."
North Carolina risks losing $5 million in federal block grant funding for mental health prevention, treatment, and recovery services if it fails to effectively prevent underage tobacco product sales by the end of the year. The proposed legislation seeks to address this issue while also protecting the health and well-being of the state's youth.
