Louisiana Law Restricts Access to Popular Barbeque Products

Think of all of the things you'll need for a successful barbeque in Louisiana. You're going to need some boudin, you can find that in the city of Scott. If you need shrimp, there's Delcambre to get those. There are a host of specialty meat places in Lafayette, Crowley, Mermentau, and New Iberia, so that's not a problem either.

If you've got a grill or a fire pit, and the envie to cook something good you'd have just about everything you'd need, right? You are leaving out a key ingredient when it comes to cooking outdoors. Granted, it's not needed every time you barbeque, but the times when you need it and don't have it, let's just say your barbeque will be ruined.

What could it possibly be?

You've got the items that go on the grill, namely the food. You've got the grill or the firepit. You've either secured propane, firewood, pellets, or some other combustible material to cook the food. What's missing?

Like the cavemen of ancient times, you're not going to do a whole lot of cooking without fire. Fire is an item that is restricted by Louisiana law, maybe even more than you or I have ever imagined.

Okay, it's not fire in it is combustible form but how we get fire from a lighter. Did you know that you can't purchase a cigarette lighter in Louisiana if you're under the age of 18? In most major retail stores you'll have to show your legal ID if you want to buy a lighter.

In some states, the legal age of lighter buying is actually 21. And some retailers in Louisiana won't sell a lighter to anyone who is under that age. It's the retailer's choice to set the purchase age above the state-mandated limit. Just to be clear, these statutes regarding legal lighter purchase ages are all manifest on the state level. We found no federal statutes that suggested a minimum age.

Oddly enough, in Louisiana, there is no statute that prevents a minor from purchasing matches. However, a retailer can choose to impose an age limit if the intended purchase of matches appears to be connected with an intent to smoke tobacco products. If that connection is determined then a Louisiana retailer could technically require you to be 21 to purchase matches. 

And this is why we have lawyers and judges because our legislators love creating a large gray area for the courts to figure out. In the meantime, don't let your kids play with matches or lighters, bad things usually happen when you do.