Starting Wednesday, Nebraska law raises the age to buy tobacco products to 19.
But, depending on who you talk to, that might already be a moot point.
A spending bill passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on Dec. 20 contained a provision raising the national minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21.
Normally, such laws take several months to go into effect, but a tweet by FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn on that same day seemed to indicate the law changed immediately.
"Today, @POTUS signed legislation to raise the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years," the tweet said. "It is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product — including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes — to anyone under 21."
The issue has left retailers confused and many are taking the safe route.
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"After receiving federal guidance, we immediately implemented the change. All of our registers were also updated to reflect the revised age verification check," said Tina Pothoff, senior vice president of communications for Hy-Vee, which has stores in eight states.
She said the company has ordered new signage for all of its stores to communicate the change to customers.
Walmart had already stopped selling tobacco products to anyone under 21 as of July 1, and Walgreens implemented the same policy Sept. 1.
It makes sense for large retailers that have stores in multiple states to play it safe, because different jurisdictions may enforce the law differently. Also, more than a dozen states either already have raised the tobacco-purchasing age to 21 or are in the process of doing so.
Locally, the city has amended its municipal code to match the state law, and the Lincoln-Lancaster Health Department and Lincoln Police will be enforcing the age limit of 19 starting Wednesday.
Christina Hitz, the health department's public health education supervisor, said the FDA intended for the change in federal law to take place immediately, "so the law of the land is 21."
However, local officials can only enforce what is written into state law, and that age as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday is 19.
"We are moving forward with what we can move forward with locally," she said.
That means a retail clerk in Lincoln cannot be cited for selling tobacco products to a 19- or 20-year-old. However, a business could face a civil fine if an FDA compliance check showed it was selling to people under 21.
Hitz said she's hoping the Legislature will take up the issue this spring and change the Nebraska law to match the federal one.
Until that happens, U-Stop is not likely to stop selling tobacco products to 19- and 20-year-olds.
"We're waiting on the Legislature," said Chad Wollan, chief operating officer of the Lincoln-based convenience store chain, which has 21 locations in Lincoln and 23 overall.
The reaction from other businesses varies.
Marty Jarvis, marketing director for B&R Stores, which owns Super Saver and Russ's Market, said it will restrict tobacco sales to those 21 and older starting Wednesday.
Local smoke shop Wicked Smoke also said it raised its age to 21 the same day the federal law was passed.
Another local smoke shop, Cheapest Damn Cigarettes and Beer, has chosen to stick with the state's age of 19.
"I think that's where we're going to be for now and we'll see what happens," owner Jim Carman said.
A spokesperson for Casey's said the company is "committed to the responsible sale of all age-restricted products. We have taken steps to comply with the new federal tobacco regulation and only guests that are 21 years or older can purchase tobacco or vapor products in our stores.
"Our policy and team member training requires that every guest who appears under the age of 40 must present valid photo identification when purchasing any age-restricted product.â€