Increasing the minimum sale age for tobacco products to 21 has been an important strategy in reducing smoking and other tobacco use among youth. Raising the tobacco age to 21 is part of a comprehensive strategy along with other strong measures, including prohibiting flavored tobacco products, higher tobacco taxes, strong smoke-free laws, and well-funded, sustained tobacco prevention and cessation programs.
Nearly all smokers start as kids or young adults, and these age groups are heavily targeted by the tobacco industry. Increasing the tobacco age to 21 will help to prevent young people from ever starting to smoke and to reduce the deaths, disease and health care costs caused by tobacco use.
"Raising the legal minimum age for cigarette purchaser to 21 could gut our key young adult market (17-20) …"
– Philip Morris report, January 21, 1986
A March 2015 report by the Institute of Medicine (now called the National Academy of Medicine) strongly concluded that raising the tobacco age to 21 will have a substantial positive impact on public health and save lives.
The study found that increasing the tobacco age will significantly reduce the number of adolescents and young adults who start smoking; reduce smoking-caused deaths; and immediately improve the health of adolescents, young adults and young mothers who would be deterred from smoking, as well as their children.
In Dec. 2019, Congress passed a federal law raising the tobacco age to 21 nationwide. This followed 19 states – Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington – having raised their tobacco ages to 21, along with Washington, D.C. and at least 530 localities. Some of the localities are in the states that subsequently enacted statewide laws.
Most Adult Smokers Start Smoking Before Age 21
National data show that about 95 percent of adult smokers begin smoking before they turn 21. The ages of 18 to 21 are also a critical period when many smokers move from experimental smoking to regular, daily use. While less than half of adult smokers (46 percent) become daily smokers before age 18, four out of five do so before they turn 21.
Nicotine is addictive, and adolescents and young adults are more susceptible to its effects because their brains are still developing. Delaying the age when young people first experiment with or begin using tobacco can reduce the risk that they will become addicted smokers.
Tobacco Companies Target Kids and Young Adults
Tobacco companies intentionally market to kids and young adults to recruit "replacement smokers" and protect company profits. They know nearly all users become addicted before age 21. Increasing the tobacco age to 21 will help counter the efforts of the tobacco companies to target young people at a critical time when many move from experimenting with tobacco to regular smoking.
Raising the Sale Age Will Help Keep Tobacco Out of High Schools
Research shows that kids often turn to older friends and classmates as sources of cigarettes. Increasing the tobacco age to 21 would reduce the likelihood that a high school student will be able to legally purchase tobacco products for other students and underage friends.
About 250 kids under the age of 18 become regular smokers each day – one in three will eventually die as result. We should do everything we can to prevent young people from smoking and save lives. Increasing the tobacco age to 21 will help achieve these goals.
Last updated Jan. 9, 2020