Elgin May Raise Smoking Age From 18 To 21

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Elgin is one vote closer to raising the tobacco buying age to 21, in part because of a letter written by a nine-year-old girl.

Elgin's Mayor says the initial request to raise the age from 18 to 21 came from his Health Commissioner.

Then, the fourth-grader wrote him a letter, asking him to help stop people from lighting up cigarettes.

"Basically what the letter said is she's worried about her grandmother losing her teeth, and smoking is bad, and can you do something about people to quit smoking," said Elgin Mayor David Kaptain.

Mayor Kaptain says he is also concerned about the popularity of vaping for teenagers, which is pure nicotine, and says it, too, would be part of the ordinance.

Elgin City Council will take a final vote on the matter later this month.