The recently passed budget bill for next year contained a number of items, many of which passed with a minimal amount of debate or publicity before making it into the final version. One of those items that snuck in was an increase from 18-21 for the age of the sale of tobacco products.
The age requirement hike has long been a goal for public health advocates and joins federal law to 19 states that had already raised the minimum age. The law is expected to be in force by the summer. Data has shown that approximately 95 percent of adult smokers pick up the habit before they turn 21. More than 80 percent of those started before turning 18. Besides preventing 18-20 year-olds from smoking, the law will also prevent this age group from being suppliers for younger teens. No more seniors in high school buying cigarettes for sophomores.
Advocates for the bill also point to the success of the national sales age of 21 for alcohol, which reduced alcohol consumption among teens. A report from the National Academy of Medicine predicted the legislation would decrease tobacco use by 12 percent and smoking-related deaths to decrease by 10 percent. Those lower death numbers would mean a prevention of 223,000 smoking-related deaths for people born between 200 and 2019, including 50,000 fewer dying from lung cancer, the country’s leading cancer killer. The same report also estimated that smoking initiation would be reduced 25 percent for 15-17 year-olds and 15 percent for 18-20 year-olds.
The legislation applies to traditional smoking but also to vaping or e-cigarettes, which have seen an explosion in use over the past few years. Usage of these products is up significantly amongst young people. They often come in fruity flavors which anti-smoking and anti-vaping advocates say are designed to hook young people into the addiction. The bill limits the age of purchase but does not address the flavor issue.
“Raising the tobacco age to 21 is a positive step, but it is not a substitute for prohibiting the flavored e-cigarettes that are luring and addicting our kids. Juul and Altria have hijacked the tobacco 21 issue for their own nefarious reasons as a shield to fight efforts to prohibit flavored e-cigarettes” said Matthew Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “It is deeply disappointing that the budget agreement gives these tobacco companies what they want without addressing the crisis caused by flavored e-cigarettes. To reverse the e-cigarette epidemic, policy makers must prohibit flavored e-cigarettes and cannot be limited by what the tobacco industry says is acceptable.”
Long-term costs of healthcare are likely to go down but in the short-term, there could be an impact to gas stations, convenience stores and other sellers of these products. There may be a drop in revenue and this could eventually result in higher prices for nicotine products for those of legal purchasing age.
