Walmart Is Raising The Age For Tobacco-Buyers In Metro Detroit

METRO DETROIT (the Patch) — Days after Walgreens and Rite Aid said they would raise the age to buy tobacco products, Walmart and Sam's Club announced they will do the same.

Beginning July 1, all Walmart and Sam's Club stores nationwide will bump the minimum age requirement to buy tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to 21, John Scudder, U.S. chief compliance and ethics officer, said in a news release Wednesday.

Around Metro Detroit, there are 28 Walmart stores in a 50-mile radius of Detroit. They are found in Patch towns like Rochester Hills, Clinton Township, Dearborn and Novi. Sam's Club can be found in Novi, Southgate, Ypsilanti and other Metro Detroit communities.

The move to change the age requirement comes after the retail giant said it received a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about its policies to prevent underage buyers from getting their hands on tobacco and electronic nicotine. Walmart has a "robust" compliance program, Scudder said, but noted the company is unsatisfied with "falling short" of its goal of 100 percent compliance. In other words, Walmart plans to do more.

"Even a single sale to a minor is one too many, and we take seriously our responsibilities in this regard," wrote Scudder. "So today, we sent a letter back to the FDA outlining additional measures we're taking to keep tobacco out of the hands of minors."

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