Columbia, Missouri passed an ordinance making it illegal for those under 21 to purchase tobacco. While 19-year-old smoker Stephen Hagen says it hasn't stopped him from getting cigarettes, public health officials hope it prevents youth smoking. The ordinance was inspired by studies showing youth are less likely to start smoking if tobacco isn't easily accessible. Although some retailers complain of lost sales, the public health department prioritizes reducing smoking's toll as a top cause of death.

1. J2100 Community-Issue story
Kaitlin Zurkammer
April 15, 2015
Word count: 828
Columbia passed an ordinance in December 2014 that made it illegal for
anyone under the age of 21 to purchase tobacco products within city limits.
Stephen Hagen, a 19-year-old cigarette smoker in Columbia, described the
new ordinance as “super bogus” and said it has not kept him from getting cigarettes
through co-workers or by driving beyond the city border.
Andrea Waner, public information officer for the Columbia/Boone County
Public Health and Human Services Department, said tobacco is a contributing factor
to all of the four leading causes of death for Boone county residents. Waner said this
is one of the reasons why the change was suggested. The thought is that if tobacco is
not easily available to young adults between the ages of 18-20, they are less likely to
start smoking in the first place.
“If you start at a young age, you are more likely to continue into adulthood,”
Waner said. “So our goal is to target those people who maybe haven’t started
smoking yet and to keep them from smoking.”
According to a study published in the Journal of Public Health Management
and Practice, approximately one-third of young adults in the U.S. go to colleges or
universities where they face several social and peer pressures and being targeted
with tobacco industry promotions. According to the study, this transitions these
young adults from being social smokers to regular smokers.

2. According to the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, Needham,
Massachusetts, was the first place to attempt to raise the legal age of purchasing
tobacco. Between 2005-2008, the city slowly raised its legal sales age for tobacco
from 18 to 21. Many people assumed young people would drive to surrounding
cities to purchase tobacco products, but the data proves this assumption to be false.
By 2010, cigarette use by high school students in Needham had dropped by more
than half.
The same thing seems to be true in Columbia. Waner said before the
ordinance was put into place, many Columbia residents assumed smokers under the
age of 21 would simply drive to surrounding cities to purchase tobacco. But
Christina Winchester, a cashier at the Break Time in Ashland, Missouri, a close
neighbor of Columbia, said the convenience store hasn’t experienced any drastic
changes in tobacco business since the ordinance was put into place.
Despite his annoyance with the law, Hagen admitted if the ordinance had
been put into place sooner, things would be different.
“If the law was like this when I was 18, I probably wouldn’t be smoking right
now,” Hagen said. “I feel like people living in Columbia from here on out will benefit
from it.”
According to the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, as of January
2015, 49 cities in seven states have changed the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21
as well and have been seeing a positive change.
Unfortunately, not everyone has viewed the new law as a positive change.
Brian Ford, a cashier at the Break Time at the intersection of Ash Street and Stadium

3. Boulevard, said the convenience store has experienced a noticeable decrease in
tobacco sales.
“I think the city is giving our tax money from the cigarettes to other
surrounding cities,” Ford said.
Waner said Ford’s complaint may be valid, but it is irrelevant to the
Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department.
“From a retailer’s perspective, I can understand their frustration,” Waner
said. “But we’re in the business of leading people down the right path for help, so
this is the choice that we support.”
Waner also said the revenue being lost by the ordinance is a lot less than
what people think. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the
excise tax on cigarettes in Missouri as of June 30, 2012, was ranked at No. 51 among
the states at 17 cents per pack. According to the CDC, Missouri smokers reported
only paying $4.24 for their last pack of cigarettes in 2009-2010 when the range
among states was between $4.04 and $7.98.
Waner mentioned that the cheap prices in Missouri could be another reason
why the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department
found that tobacco is a cause in all the leading four causes of death in Boone County.
Hagen said that when he heard people in the Chicago area pay up to $13 for
cigarettes, he didn’t think the $5 he’s been paying in Columbia was bad at all.
According to the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, smoking causes
over 480,000 premature deaths, and tobacco takes more lives than AIDS, fires,
illegal drugs, alcohol, suicides and homicides combined. That’s why the

4. Columbia/Boone County Health and Human Services Department offers help to
those trying to quit.
“If you want to quit smoking, you can come here,” Waner said. “We offer free
courses and give you free nicotine patches.”
The new ordinance hasn’t kept Hagen from getting cigarettes. Even though
quitting smoking is not one of his top priorities, he said he hopes to stop someday.

5. J2100 Source Sheet
Assignment type: community issue and sidebar
Reporter: Kaitlin Zurkammer
Source 1
Name: Andrea Waner
Title: public information officer
Date interviewed: April 13, 2015 in person
How was source used in story? Quoted and used for background
Phone number of source: 573-874-7632
Place of employment: Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services
Email: anwaner@gocolumbiamo.com
Address of place of work: 1005 West Worley, Columbia, MO 65203
 Source 2
Name: Stephen Hagen
Title: 19-old-smoker/Columbia resident
Date interviewed: April 12, 2015 in person
How was source used in story? Quoted and used for background
Phone number of source: 314-795-4738
Place of employment: Pickleman’s
Email: sphagen67@gmail.com
Address: 3217 Old Highway 63 S. Apt.3337
Columbia, MO 65201
Source 3
Name: Brian Ford
Title: Cashier
Date interviewed: April 11, 2015 in person
How was source used in story? Quoted
Phone number of source: 573-489-6784
Place of employment: Break Time
Address of place of employment: 2101 W Ash St, Columbia, MO 65203
Source 4
Name: Jared Law
Title: manager at Aqueous Vapor
Date interviewed: May 6, 2015
How was source used in story? Background and quoted
Phone number of source: 214-205-2211
Place of employment: Aqueous Vapor

6. Address of place of employment: 601 Business Loop 70 E
Columbia, MO
Source 5
Name: Christina Winchester
Title: cashier at Break Time
Date interviewed: May 6, 2015
How was source used in story? background
Phone number of source: 573-825-5592
Place of employment: Break Time in Ashland, Mo.
Addressofplaceofemployment: 101 S Henry Clay Blvd,
Ashland, MO 65010
Additional Sources
Website name/article title: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice:
“Exploring Support for 100% College Tobacco-Free Policies and Tobacco-Free
Campuses Among College Tobacco Users”
link(s): https://ill.mul.missouri.edu/MUU/logon.html
Website name/article title: tobacco21.org-Preventing Tobacco Addiction
Foundation
Link(s): http://tobacco21.org/critical-issues/
Website name/article title: CDC Smoking and Tobacco Use State Highlights
(Missouri)
Link(s):
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/state_data/state_highlights/2012/stat
es/missouri/index.htm