Raise the Minimum Age to Buy Tobacco to 21, But Enforcement Won't Be Easy

Recent Action

A bipartisan effort is underway in the U.S. Congress to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco and vaping products to 21 according to an April 30 CNBC piece,1

a May 3, 2019 Sinclair Broadcast Group article accessed on ABC’s website,2 and other sources. The issue gained much national attention after an April press release3 from U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell from my home state of Kentucky announcing he planned to introduce a bill in the U.S. Senate this month (May) to raise that age to 21.

Twelve states and numerous communities already have a minimum age of 21 for purchasing tobacco products according to a list on TobaccoFreeKids.org4.

Retailers are also taking action. “Effective September 1, 2019” Walgreens will require tobacco purchasers at its stores to be at least 21 according to a Walgreens press release5. CVS stopped selling tobacco in September 2014, and one year later CVS released results of a study conducted by the CVS Health Research Institute indicating positive results from the decision. An article on CVS’s website6 discusses this.

My Views

I strongly support raising the age to 21 for purchase of tobacco and vaping products. I also support offering help to current users to quit the habit. A law raising the limit could be set to take effect six months after passage, giving time for current users to seek help quitting the habit. During this six months, the government could offer cessation help (via websites with tips, brochures, etc.).  Much of this is already available, but it is underused. Religious organizations, other nonprofit organizations, and communities could offer support groups, too; again, some already do, but the resources are often unused.

Better education of young people and quality enforcement of the law are keys to its success. Most current users began using before age 18 as stated on a Centers for Disease Control webpage7, as well as many other places. The underage users likely obtained their products from older relatives or friends, in addition to making purchases from retailers who sold them illegally.
       Many persons under age 18 have older friends age 18, 29, or 20 who could and would give or sell them tobacco and vaping products. If we prevent persons under age 21 from using such products, by the time individuals reach age 21 they may have the good judgement not to ever try them.  
     But, enforcement is key, and it needs to be accompanied by help overcoming addiction. Parents, teachers, community leaders, religious leaders, nonprofit organizations, etc., can all play a role in helping persons avoid using, or stop using, tobacco and vaping products.
      I think it can be much easier to get persons to quit using them if they've only tried them a few times or for a few months or years than if they have been a user for decades. Let's seek to help young people who are current users to quit before they become hooked more strongly.
     Personally, over the long term, I’d love for tobacco products and vaping products to be illegal. As I see it, if tobacco was a new product it would not be legal. But, millions of people are addicted, so making it illegal probably isn’t feasible in the short term.

It Won’t Be Easy

In 1604 King James I of England wrote a treatise criticizing tobacco in which he stated, among many other things, that smoking tobacco is “a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black stinking fume thereof nearest resembling the horrible stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless,” as quoted from a Library of Virginia website8, and available from many other sources, too.

In the hundreds of years since King James I, many others have sought to discourage tobacco use. Its use is now in decline in the United States and many other nations. Still, it remains an addition for millions. And vaping is adding to the problem.

Vaping is attracting millions of young people. Teenagers and preteens need educated better about the dangers of vaping. Better education, accompanied by passing and enforcing a law raising the minimum age for vaping and tobacco use to 21, can help enormously in preventing young people from ever starting the habit. But, getting current users under age 21 to stop and preventing access to potential future users won’t be easy. Passing the law may be easy compared to the enforcement of it.

ENDNOTES:

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1 LaVito, Angelica; "US lawmakers push bipartisan bill to raise the federal minimum buying age for tobacco to 21"; CNBC website; April 30, 2019; website accessed May 11, 2019; https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/30/lawmakers-push-bill-to-raise-federal-minimum-tobacco-buying-age-to-21.html

2 Macaluso, Michelle; “Bipartisan push in Congress to raise the national smoking age”; Sinclair Broadcast Group; May 3, 2019; website accessed May 5, 2019; https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/bipartisan-push-in-congress-to-raise-the-national-smoking-age

3 “McConnell Announces Bill to Raise Minimum Age to Buy Tobacco to 21”; Senator Mitch McConnell’s website; April 18, 2019, website accessed May 5, 2019; https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=C7912202-0742-4404-8775-8836F261DDEF

4 “States and Localities That Have Raised the Minimum Sale Age for Tobacco to 21”; Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids; data accurate as of May 1, 2019; website accessed May 5, 2019; https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/assets/content/what_we_do/state_local_issues/sales_21/states_localities_MLSA_21.pdf

5 “Walgreens to Implement New Tobacco 21 Policy to Further Prevent Youth Access to Tobacco Products”; Walgreens website; April 23, 2019; website accessed May 5, 2019; https://news.walgreens.com/press-releases/general-news/walgreens-to-implement-new-tobacco-21-policy-to-further-prevent-youth-access-to-tobacco-products.htm

6 “We Quit Tobacco, Here’s What Happened Next”; CVS website; September 1, 2015; website accessed May 5, 2019; https://cvshealth.com/thought-leadership/cvs-health-research-institute/we-quit-tobacco-heres-what-happened-next 

7 “Youth and Tobacco Use”; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Page last reviewed February 28, 2019; webpage accessed May 5, 2019; https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm

8 “King James I, A Counterblaste to Tobacco, 1604, Section VIII, The uncleanliness of tobacco use”; Library of Virginia website; accessed May 5, 2019; http://edu.lva.virginia.gov/dbva/files/original/2e14513db1261cffc5307218fe4347c9.pdf

DISCLOSURE:
The author’s second job is as a part-time store clerk at a retailer whose products include cigarettes and cigars. His retailer sells to persons over age 18.

NOTE:

This piece was last updated on May 11, 2019. The original Google Blogger post on May 5, 2019 was virtually identical to one the author submitted to Craft News Report ( a website operated by his friend Paul Craft) earlier the same day. The author has long felt a need to help current tobacco users quit and to help prevent young people from starting the habit.