Walmart Raises Minimum Age for Tobacco Purchases to 21

Walmart stores in the United States will no longer sell tobacco products to people under 21 years of age, effective July 1.

The company made that announcement in a statement from John Scudder, U.S. chief compliance and ethics officer for Walmart, Inc., on Wednesday.

In another change, the company is in the process of discontinuing the sale of fruit- and dessert-flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems, which U.S. Food and Drug Administration research has shown to be preferred by minors.

"We unequivocally acknowledge that even a single sale of a tobacco product to a minor is one too many, and we take seriously our responsibilities in this regard," Scudder wrote in a letter to the FDA dated May 8.

This developing story will be updated.