Tobacco to 21 Act aims to raise smoking age to 21
On April 30, Congressman Chris Stewart (R-UT) joined Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) in introducing the Tobacco to 21 Act. This legislation will establish 21 as the legal age for sale of tobacco products nationwide.
“Combating tobacco use by children has been a priority of mine since first taking office,” Stewart said. “I truly believe that it is an epidemic among our youth. I am confident that this bill will significantly reduce underage tobacco usage and ultimately save lives.”
Each day in the United States, more than 2,000 youth under 18 years of age smoke their first cigarette. Studies show that an estimated 5,600,000 youth aged 17 and under are projected to die prematurely from a tobacco-related illness if prevalence rates do not change. This bill seeks to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21 years old. Increasing the minimum legal sale age will help prevent young people from starting down a path that often leads to addiction, disease, and premature death.
“The Tobacco to 21 Act takes bold and necessary action to reduce tobacco use among youth and young adults,” said Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. “With 95 percent of tobacco users having started their life-threatening habit before age 21, raising the minimum sales age for all tobacco products to 21 nationwide will reduce tobacco use, nicotine addiction and tobacco-related disease and death. The American Heart Association is proud to support this important public health legislation, and we are grateful to Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Todd Young (R-IN), Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Representative Chris Stewart (R-UT) for their leadership on this issue. This bill is an essential step in reaching the tobacco endgame of eliminating tobacco use and nicotine addiction in our nation.”
