How old do you have to be to legally buy a lighter?

In Alberta, you have to be 18. It is a law.

So they illegally sold it to me?
That’s weird.

“Definition: The legal smoking age in Canada is the age at which a person is allowed to buy tobacco products, including cigarettes. The legal smoking age in Canada is determined by each province and territory in Canada.

The legal smoking age in the individual provinces and territories of Canada is

* Alberta – 18
* British Columbia – 19
* Manitoba – 18
* New Brunswick – 19
* Newfoundland and Labrador – 19
* Northwest Territories – 18
* Nova Scotia – 19
* Nunavut – 18
* Ontario – 19
* Prince Edward Island – 19
* Quebec – 18
* Saksatchewan – 18
* Yukon Territory – 18 ”

Source

@Marina But that doesn’t mention lighters, only tobacco. I would not be surprised to find that many places don’t have a specific law on the subject, and it will almost certainly vary from place to place (states, provinces, countries).

@Marina
thank you! But I’m not smoking.

I got carded when I bought a lighter last year, in California.

Turns out you have to be of legal smoking age (which changes region by region). Not that this holds up much in practice though (in my experience anyway). I often bought lighters as a teenager, and once at a Shoppers Drugmart I was turned away and I thought the woman was shitting me. But then I found out, no, it’s true.

@disturbed_broken @nicobanks is correct. You have to be legal smoking age to buy parapenalia, which a lighter is considered to be.

@Marina okay thanks.

I’ve never been carded for a lighter in my life. I didn’t know that there was a age limit in some states.

I’m simply astonished by these responses, and not in a good way. Not that I think they’re incorrect. No, I’m sadly astonished to believe that they’re true.

ive never been carded before so im not sure. it would not suprise me one bit though.

When I worked at Wawa, we didn’t even give our those free packets of matches to people who looked under 18, they’d have to provide ID. this was 2003, in Pennsylvania.

Here Australia it’s 18, as far as I know.

I was carded once when I went to buy a lighter here in Illinois. You need to be of legal smoking age, as others have said. I was 30 when this happened to me. Made my day. :)

There is no “one rule covers all”. It depends on the local ordinance. In some, you can purchase items no matter what the law, because the clerk has not been properly trained. For a definitive answer, ask the law enforcement in your local area.

@disturbed_broken, then if you’re not smoking, what are you burning?

@Jeruba nothing i just find lighters entertaining…i dont plan on lighting anything on fire.

@Jeruba there other things a lighter could be used for, sometimes when I clean my stove the fire doesn’t start and I would need a lighter to start it up. So buying a lighter doesn’t me that the person buying it is a smoker of any kind.