Last week, President Donald Trump signed the new minimum age into law as part of a comprehensive spending bill. On Friday, the FDA noted on its website that it is now illegal for a retailer to sell tobacco products “including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes” to people under the age of 21. The FDA will provide more details on this issue as they become available. “In the United States, state laws set a minimum age of legal access (MLA) at 18 for most tobacco products. We examined the history of these laws using internal tobacco industry documents and newspaper archives from 1860 to 2014. The momentum accelerated as cities and states across the country began raising their legal age for selling tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Nineteen states and D.C. have passed 21 tobacco laws. Since the federal law was passed, 14 other states have passed laws raising their state`s selling age to 21 in November 2020.
The measure to raise the legal age for tobacco sales to 21 is part of the provisions associated with the spending bills Health organizations have lobbied the administration to ban flavors popular with young people. Vaping advocates have argued that they are a tool for adult smokers to quit combustible cigarettes. Vape shop owners argued that restrictions on the sale of flavors would destroy their business. The tobacco industry considered the minimum legal age of legal access to tobacco to be binding. A 1969 summary report on state legislation prepared by an American tobacco lobbyist indicates that, as the industry has known since at least the 1960s, increasing the number of members of Parliament in the tobacco industry would reduce tobacco consumption. Efforts in the 21st century to train tobacco MPs reflect a growing understanding of the process by which people become addicted to tobacco. Most countries have laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco products to people under a certain age, usually at the age of majority. Tobacco companies viewed these proposals as a major commercial threat. Philip Morris` 1986 5-year corporate strategic plan stated in its “socio-political” section that “these [AMA] resolutions go to the heart of PM-USA`s business.” 58(p9) The company was concerned that the combination of health concerns, tax increases and declining social acceptance would make smoking less attractive; As smoking is introduced at a young age and people smoke less as they age, recruiting new young smokers has been the company`s top priority.58 The report noted that “attitudes suggest a reduction in peer pressure to smoke and a continued erosion of start-up rates among young adults.” 57(pB5) Yet many health and parent organizations have called on the president to do more than raise the legal age to buy tobacco. There is hardly a tobacconist in Los Angeles who does not violate [the law prohibiting the sale of tobacco to persons under 16] at least a dozen times a day, because it is well known that young people of tender age form a large part of the large army of cigarette smokers. 21 Effective September 1, 2019, the 86th Parliament passed Senate Bill 21, which raised the legal age for the sale, distribution, possession, purchase, consumption or receipt of cigarettes, e-cigarettes or tobacco products from 18 to 21. A majority (69%) of smokers and non-smokers believe that a minimum age to purchase cigarettes should be strictly enforced.53(S9) Another noted that “it is crucial to make our case that the tobacco industry believes that smoking is an adult custom and does not want minors to smoke.” 73(p.
(116) These changes in state laws suggest that the minimum age could be lowered, but not abolished permanently. A 1968 public relations study for Philip Morris surveyed business leaders, theologians, academics and newspaper editors to determine the lowest minimum age for legal access that would be politically feasible. Most respondents believed that 18 was the youngest, although the survey suggests that respondents consider an age of only 14.53 The study also surveyed a larger sample of respondents; of these states chose different age limits when they first passed laws restricting the sale and consumption of tobacco and changed their deputies over time. Illinois, for example, lowered its MLA from 18 to 16 in 1920 and increased it to 18 in 1964. In contrast, Iowa increased its MLA from 16 to 21 in 1934 and reduced it to 18 in 1964. In the 1950s and 1960s, lawmakers in several states repeatedly attempted to lower the minimum age of legal access to tobacco to 18 or 16, in some cases successfully. In 1953 and 1955, Maryland and Oregon temporarily lifted their bans on selling cigarettes to minors. Between 1954 and 1963, 10 states lowered the age of entry from 21 to 18 (and 19 in Utah).28–35 In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, higher age limits were seen as a way to better enforce them; 50 years later, the press reported that lower age limits had been proposed to ensure “stricter enforcement.” 36,37 It is illegal to sell or give away a tobacco product, directly or indirectly, to minors, and anyone caught doing so is punished with severe penalties. It is illegal for minors to buy, use or possess tobacco products in public Minors caught red-handed usually receive a warning or a $30 fine, with their school and parents informed and follow-up action taken by the school. Minors arrested more than once must attend at least two smoking cessation counseling sessions to aggravate their crimes.
Minors who do not meet the above requirements, or if arrested four or more times, may be charged in court and, if convicted, fined up to $300. [107] Raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products in the United States from 18 to 21 is a major public health achievement for the White House. Several states have already passed individual laws to raise the age of tobacco purchase to 21. The minimum age of sale of 18 is appropriate and should not be changed. Eighteen-year-olds are considered mature enough to serve in the military, enter into contracts, and marry; And 18 is usually the age at which young people leave home to study. Proposals to raise the minimum age for sale simply do not solve a “youth” problem – unless a new definition of “youth” is adopted that is appropriate on occasion. It is therefore difficult to see what would be the point of raising the minimum age for the sale of tobacco. The main effect of this may simply be to encourage 18- to 20-year-olds to find other legal or illegal ways to obtain tobacco. The minimum age for the sale of alcohol is an exception to the general rule that 18 is the age at which young people in our society are treated as adults [emphasis in original].7(p2) The laws appeared in the 1880s; By 1920, half of the states had established deputies of at least 21 years of age.