Texas has officially become the 15th state to raise the minimum legal age to purchase all tobacco-related products from 18 to 21, according to legislation signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott.
The law, which officially goes into effect on September 1, states that anyone found to be in violation will be charged with a Class C misdemeanor and will also face a fine of up to $500. Additionally, the products affected also includes electronic cigarettes. There is one exception to the bill, however, as those who are currently serving in the United States military will still be eligible to purchase tobacco-related products if they are between the ages of 18 and 21.
In April this year, the New York Senate passed similar legislation, and Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign it into law. Back in May, the governor of the state of Illinois signed signed legislation increasing the purchasing age for tobacco into law.
According to an official tally from the American Lung Association, the following states have passed legislation upping the minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21:
- Arkansas
- California
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- Oregon
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
Additionally, multiple individual cities and counties across the United States have raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco-related products.
Just last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also formally introduced legislation that would call for the minimum age to purchase tobacco-related products to be raised nationwide.
According to a study from the Texas21 Coalition, 7.4% of high school students in Texas currently smoke, while more than 10% currently use electronic cigarettes. Furthermore, they also state that approximately 498,000 children across the state will end up ultimately passing away prematurely due to smoking.
Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report back in February which stated that across the country, around 27.1% of high school students and 7.2% of middle school students had used some type of tobacco-related product last year. Furthermore, the CDC also stated that the usage of electronic cigarettes increased approximately 78% within the span of just one year.
According to the CDC, cigarette smoke has been shown to contain over 7,000 different types of chemicals. 70 of those are said to cause cancer. Additionally, the CDC states that nearly all tobacco-related products contain nicotine, including some electronic cigarettes.
In a further statement regarding the new legislation, the state director for the American Heart Association had the following to say:
“Delaying the age when young people first begin to use tobacco – the leading cause of preventable death – will reduce the risk they will develop a deadly addiction.”
Many retailers have come out supporting the new legislation, including Kroger, Walgreens, Walmart, Juul, 7-Eleven and more. These businesses have announced that they are in support of raising age restrictions on tobacco-related products as a way to help raise awareness. Furthermore, they have also announced that they will begin requiring customers to be at least 21 years of age or older in order to purchase tobacco-related products beginning as early as next month.
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