Majority of Americans Agree You Should Be 21 to Buy Tobacco

Three out of every four American adults favor increasing the minimum age from 18 to 21, even among smokers.

July 09, 2015

NEW YORK – Three out of every four American adults favor increasing the minimum age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21, according to a study released by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM). Even self-described smokers largely agreed with the higher minimum age, with 7 of 10 cigarette smokers in favor of raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21, on par with alcohol sales.

Most states require tobacco purchases to be made by someone who is at least 18; in Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah, the minimum age is 19. Hawaii is the first state to implement an over-21 law, which will go into effect next year, and various municipalities across the nation have passed their own local laws mandating 21 as the minimum age for tobacco purchases.

The data used by AJPM came from a 2014 online survey of 4,219 adults over 18. According to the journal, a separate study conducted earlier this year found that if the all states were to raise the minimum age for tobacco sales to 21, there would be a 12% decrease in smokers.

Scientists on the panel concluded that setting a legal minimum age of 21 to purchase tobacco products would have a substantially greater impact than raising the age to 19, in part because many teenagers often pick up a smoking habit from friends or relatives around their same age. The group found that raising the minimum age would reduce deaths from smoking substantially, but the full benefits might not take hold for decades.

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