RALEIGH, N.C. — Some state legislators are introducing a bipartisan bill to stop youth vaping.

The bill will also implement a system that will track where vapes and other nicotine products are sold.

What You Need To Know

  • Some state leaders introduced a bill called "Solly's law" to remember Solomon Wynn, a boy who died from vaping

  • State leaders say the bill is to protect youth from the harmful effects of vaping and nicotine

  • The group wants the bill to raise the legal sales age of tobacco products to age 21

The bill is called "Solly's law" to remember a North Carolina boy who died from vaping.

State leaders said the bill is to protect youth from the harmful effects of vaping and nicotine.

A North Carolina mother said if the legal sales age of tobacco products was 21, her stepson would still be alive.

Solomon Wynn, known to many as “Solly,” was a freshman at New Hanover High school and a football player on the Wildcats football team.

Wynn was a typical 15 year-old-boy — full of life and optimism — when his family said he died from complications of vaping in 2023.

“Solomon had suffered from severe hypoxia, which resulted in irreversible brain damage and organ failure,” said Charlene Zorn, Wynn’s stepmother.

Zorn said the family was devastated.

“On June 16, 11 days after Solomon's 15th birthday, he collapsed at home,” Zorn said.

On Wednesday state leaders and anti-child-vaping advocates, along with Zorn, introduced a bill called "Solly's law" to remember Wynn but also to crack down on teen vaping.

The group wants the bill to raise the legal sales age of tobacco products to age 21.

They also want to require a tobacco retail sales permit, which allows the state to know where tobacco products are being sold.

Currently North Carolina doesn’t have a permit, but the state has over 1,200 tobacco retailers and over 5,000 vapes shops.

“Vapes were created to help people stop smoking. That’s not what’s happening with them now,” Zorn said.“Vapes were created to help people stop smoking. That’s not what’s happening with them now,” Zorn said.

Zorn said it’s now her mission to keep Wynn’s name alive all while helping to prevent another tragic case for parents in the state.

“And getting 'Solly's law' passed is the way to do that. I need every lawmaker to back this bill,” Zorn said.

In 2019, Congress increased the federal minimum legal sales age of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21.

But North Carolina has not made that change, and it's one of seven states that has not raised the age.

If "Solly's law" passes, it will go into effect at the end of the year.