Walmart and Sam's Club will raise the minimum age for buying tobacco products to 21, and will no longer sell the fruit flavored vaping systems that have become popular with teenagers.
The new age requirement will kick in on July 1, Walmart said Wednesday, and will apply to the sale of e-cigarettes as well. But even adults will no longer be able to buy the electronic nicotine systems that taste like desserts or fruit, with Walmart saying it plans to phase out those products.
"We unequivocally acknowledge that even a single sale of a tobacco product to a minor is one too many, and we take seriously our responsibilities in this regard,'' John Scudder, Walmart's U.S. Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, said in a letter addressed to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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