Michigan AG rules Ann Arbor can’t raise cigarette age to 21

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan’s attorney general has ruled that Ann Arbor cannot ban the sale of tobacco to 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds.

Bill Schuette issued an opinion Friday finding that the city’s cigarette ordinance conflicts with a 1972 state law that set the “age of majority” at 18.

He says the law pre-empts local rules.

In August, the Ann Arbor City Council voted to raise the age for tobacco sales, effective Jan. 1, so fewer young adults could legally buy cigarettes.

State Sen. Rick Jones, a Grand Ledge Republican, had asked for the attorney general’s opinion on the Ann Arbor ordinance.