 Soon the legal age to buy tobacco products in Beltrami County will be raised from 18 to 21. Reporter Cheryl Moore tells us what led the county to pass the new ordinance. The Beltrami County Board first brought the discussion up about raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 back in December. The board heard feedback from the public and decided to pass the new ordinance last night. The county board serves as the public board of health. That's what a lot of people don't know as well. So in their role as the board of health it's their job to really look out for the health of the general public. Advocates for the ordinance hope that by limiting the access of tobacco to young adults it will help the products stay out of the schools and out of the hands from kids as young as 15. What we've learned over the last couple years is that youth tobacco use rates are increasing rapidly and they're really stalling the the progress that we've been making over the last 20 years and one of the reasons for that is the increase in the use of e-cigarettes. I hear tobacco users of all ages say they wish they would have never started. So by raising the age from 18 to 21 we are limiting access. We're not controlling our youth. We're not punishing them. We're just protecting them. More than 20 Minnesota counties and cities have already raised the age to buy tobacco products to 21. With Beltrami County now joining the list the closest places to buy tobacco products for anyone under 21 will be Cass, Hubbard, Clearwater and Atasca County. For one local smoke shop they say they're not too worried about the new ordinance. They say they do get quite a few 18 to 21 year old customers but they understand the cause. Someone in the smoke shop business at the moment it's really I don't think will affect us too much tobacco sales wise. I personally think it's going to be a benefit to try to prevent younger you know kids from smoking. There's no timeline on when the ordinance will officially go into effect but officials say it will not be in the extremely near future. It also makes a statement that we as a community do not support the use of tobacco especially by our kids. Reporting of Imogen Shawmour, Lakeland News. The Beltrami County Board will begin discussing implementation at their next board meeting. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.