Trump has previously advocated raising the age limit for buying tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and vaping products, to 21. In 2009, Congress enacted the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), which gives the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) broad powers to regulate the manufacture, marketing, and sale of tobacco products. As passed, it applied to cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco.6 In 2016, the FDA established a rule that extended its regulatory authority to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, and hookah and pipe tobacco.7 Following the adoption of this rule, No tobacco product could be sold to a person under the age of 18. Raising the minimum age for selling tobacco to 21 is quickly becoming a promising approach to reducing tobacco use among youth.1,2 Since 2013, more than 100 U.S. cities and towns have passed laws setting 21 as the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products («Tobacco 21» laws).3 As the then mayor explained, Michael Bloomberg, When he signed New York`s Tobacco 21 Act in 2013, these laws were effective because they «prevent young people from experimenting with tobacco when they are most likely to become addicted.» 4 Nicotine is addictive, and adolescents and young adults are more sensitive to its effects because their brains are still developing. Delaying the age at which young people experiment or start smoking may reduce their risk of becoming addicted to smokers. «We applaud Congress` efforts to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 and call on the President to sign this bill. The Vapor Technology Association has advocated for raising the age to 21 for all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, and believes, along with public health groups, that this is the most important step that can be taken to reduce access and use by teens,» said Tony Abboud, Executive Director of the Vapor Technology Association. in an emailed statement Friday.
However, there are several potential legal barriers, of which the right of first refusal at the state level is probably the most important. The right of first refusal is the legal doctrine by which «superior» levels of government can prevent «lower» levels of government from adopting stricter measures (i.e. The federal government may prevail over state and local laws, and state governments may prejudge local laws).17 Because local jurisdictions derive their powers from state law, state governments have the ability to limit the legal authority of local jurisdictions. First, the doctrine of the «implied right of first refusal» provides that if a state regulates a matter exhaustively, it can be said to «occupy the ground» and leave no room for local regulations on the same issue, even without an explicit declaration of the right of first refusal.20,21 For example, a 2013 decision by Maryland`s highest court stated: that a local law setting a minimum packaging size for cigars was anticipated because the state legislature had «occupied the land.» regulation of the packaging and sale of tobacco products. 22 Second, a number of states apply the «Dillon Rule,» which limits local governments to powers expressly provided for in state law.23 (Most states apply the opposite rule: local governments can regulate on any matter unless state law prohibits it.) In a state like Vermont that enforces the Dillon Rule, local governments may not have the authority to issue tobacco regulations.21 Therefore, even in a state that has not been explicitly designated as excluded, consulting with a lawyer familiar with state law should be a first step in any efforts to represent Tobacco 21`s interests. Raising the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products to 21 years has been an important strategy to reduce smoking and other forms of tobacco use among young people. Raising the smoking age to 21 is part of a comprehensive strategy, along with other strong measures, including banning flavoured tobacco products, higher tobacco taxes, strong smoke-free laws, and sustainable, well-funded tobacco prevention and cessation programmes. Includes all types of tobacco products: cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, electronic nicotine delivery systems (including e-cigarettes) and hookah. In December, 19 states raised the minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21, according to the nonprofit campaign for tobacco-free children: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
Many high school students would live to age 18 — the previous legal age to buy tobacco and e-cigarettes in most states — during their senior year of high school. They often bought tobacco and e-cigarettes for young students. A purchase age of 21 is consistent with alcohol laws. Raising the legal drinking age to 21 has helped reduce drunk driving deaths and reduce alcohol dependence among adolescents. CDC`s Tobacco Monitoring and Evaluation System (STATE) contains a wealth of information about the MLSA Act in each state and territory, as well as in DC. This information is updated quarterly and includes provisions such as minimum age of sale, law enforcement agency, and penalties for violations in each jurisdiction. According to the STATE system, prior to the passage of Federal Act T21 on December 20, 2019, 19 states, 2 territories (Guam and Palau), and DC had already passed laws increasing their MLSA for tobacco products to age 21. Since the passage of federal law T21, 20 additional states and 1 territory (Northern Mariana Islands) have increased their MLSA for tobacco products to age 21. As of June 30, 2022, 43 jurisdictions (39 states, 3 territories, and DC) have issued a 21-year MLSA for the purchase of tobacco products, but 10 retailers in jurisdictions that have not increased their MLSA to 21 must continue to comply with federal T21.
A new law in the U.S. banning the sale of tobacco products to people under the age of 21 is now in effect, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Research shows that children often turn to older friends and classmates as sources of cigarettes. Raising the smoking age to 21 would reduce the likelihood that a high school student could legally purchase tobacco products for other underage students and friends. In December 2019, Congress passed a federal law raising the smoking age to 21 nationwide. That 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 — that raised their smoking age to 21, as well as Washington, D.C. and at least 530 cities. Some of the places are located in states that have subsequently enacted national laws. If a state is not listed as explicitly intended, it is much more likely that the Tobacco Ordinances21 can be enacted at the local level. However, our review of the provisions of the State Code was limited to an analysis of the explicit pre-emption provisions and did not take into account two other legal issues that could come into play. In 2015, the Institute of Medicine released a report concluding that raising the minimum age to sell tobacco to 21 would reduce smoking initiation by 25 percent among 15- to 17-year-olds nationwide and 15 percent among 18- to 20-year-olds.
This reduction in smoking initiation would result in nearly 250,000 fewer premature deaths among people born between 2000 and 2019.5 Other models have also predicted that Tobacco 21 laws would significantly increase overall life expectancy while reducing health care costs.6,7 Yet many health and parent organizations have urged the president to do more than raise the legal age to buy tobacco.