By: Kevin Allen Jr.
On December 20th, 2019 a bill was signed by President Donald Trump that included raising the federal age requirement necessary to purchase tobacco. In the summer of 2020, the legal age for tobacco purchases will be raised from 18 to 21, an age that has not been adjusted since the last federal law passed in 1990 (Time Magazine, 2019). Twenty states have already increased the legal tobacco purchase age to 21, a change which occurred in New Jersey back on November 1st, 2017 (New Jersey Department of Health, 2017). In regards to this recently signed bill, an important component that deserves recognition is that the age increase is not limited to traditional tobacco products, as it also applies to vaping and e-cigarette products, which have been steadily increasing in popularity among youth throughout the past few years.
A report from the National Academy of Medicine stated that raising the legal tobacco purchasing age to 21 could potentially prevent up to 223,000 deaths among those born between 2000 and 2019, which includes reducing lung cancer deaths by 50,000 cases (Institute of Medicine, 2015). Some may be wondering why the age 21 was selected, so the American Lung Association listed out a few significant facts surrounding tobacco use among youth and the impact that this change may have, a few of these facts are as followed: 94% of adult smokers had their first cigarette before turning 21, increasing the sales age for tobacco will help counter the big tobacco industry’s youth marketing efforts, and the national sale age of 21 for alcohol sales resulted in lower alcohol consumption by youth, lower dependence and addiction rates, and lower intoxicated driving fatalities, and similar effects have been predicted with the change in national sale age of tobacco (American Lung Association, 2019).
This bill signing came at a crucial time, as light is being shed on the dangers of e-cigarettes and vaping among users. As of December 17th, 2019, reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2019), there has been a total of 2,506 vaping related hospitalizations and 54 vaping related deaths spanning across the United States. It is important to keep both adults and youth educated about the health risks associated with e-cigarette usage, as well as the currently changing laws surrounding tobacco products. Here at the Southwest Council, we provide evidence-based programs for youth that outline the risks of tobacco use among individuals, while also providing them with skills (such as healthy decision making, effective communication, and proper coping techniques) in order to help prevent usage from taking place. The Southwest Council also provides detailed alcohol, tobacco, and other drug presentations to both youth and adult populations with the goal of spreading awareness and increasing knowledge surrounding current drug trends within society. If you are interested in any of the services we can provide, or if you would like to know more about the Southwest Council, please visit us at www.southwestcouncil.org or call us at (856)-794-1011.
