Federal law sets the minimum tobacco purchase age at 21 nationwide, but North Carolina's own statute, NCGS 14-313, still sets the state age at 18, so retailers must follow the stricter federal Tobacco 21 standard.
NCGS 14-313 prohibits the distribution, sale, or furnishing of tobacco products, tobacco-derived products, vapor products, and cigarette wrapping papers to anyone under 18, and requires sellers to demand proof of age when they have reasonable grounds to believe a purchaser is underage. The General Assembly has not raised the state age to 21. However, the federal Tobacco 21 law enacted in December 2019 makes it illegal nationwide to sell any tobacco or vapor product to a person under 21, and the FDA enforces that standard in North Carolina. Retailers therefore must refuse sales to anyone under 21 even though state criminal penalties attach at 18.
Selling to a person under 18 is a Class 2 misdemeanor under NCGS 14-313; sales to buyers aged 18 to 20 violate federal law and are enforced by the FDA through fines and no-tobacco-sale orders.
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