California’s governor, Jerry Brown, approved on Wednesday a norm to raise the b to buy tobacco from 18 to 21. That includes all kinds of tobacco for smoking, chewing, dipping and vaping. The measure will start applying on June 9 in the state of California. Any person who provides tobacco to minors may be charged with misdemeanor.

The measure also includes other ways to restrict the use of tobacco, like banning the sales of e-cigarettes to minors. In addition, the measure is set to ban the use of tobacco at community facilities and children-related centers. Other methods are raising the tobacco taxes.

Smoking rates among young people are rising
The Institute of Medicine stated that most daily-smokers begin using tobacco before turning 19. Adolescents and young people in general seem to ignore the harmful effects of nicotine addiction. Image Credit: SF Gate

It’s worth mentioning that anti-tobacco groups have already collected 25% of the required signatures to make it a law in the state. California will also expand its funding for programs and campaigns to prevent people from smoking any type of tobacco.

Young smokers are the main concern for researchers

The Institute of Medicine stated that most daily-smokers begin using tobacco before turning 19. Adolescents and young people in general seem to ignore the harmful effects of nicotine addiction.  The same institute reported in 2015 that implementing this measure across the country would diminish the percent of smokers. Considering the impact of the illegality of buying tobacco would be enough to prevent teens to starting to smoke.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pushed the study forward to detect if this kind of measures will have a significant impact in high school adolescents. Researchers claim it will, since those who can legally obtain tobacco are now less likely to be in the same social networks as high school students.

Some veteran organizations raised their voices against the measure. They claim that if 18 is old enough to enlist on military forces and die for your country, it should be old enough to smoke as well.

Smoking regulations on other states

Hawaii was the first state to raise the legal smoking age to 21. Still, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and more than 100 local jurisdictions have made the change in order to prevent young people start smoking.  The U.S. Department of Health states that tobacco control is important to reduce disease, disability and death index related to tobacco use.

For the government’s office, a comprehensive approach that includes educational, clinical, regulatory, economic and social strategies, in order to eliminate the negative health and economic effects of tobacco use in the american population. It is important that states create sustainable tobacco prevention and control programs, although new measures in California are more focused in controlling existing tobacco use instead of using prevention strategies.

Source: Huffington Post