A California lawmaker introduced legislation Thursday, Jan. 29, that would raise the legal minimum smoking age in the state from 18 to 21.
“Tobacco companies know that people are more likely to become addicted to smoking if they start at a young age,” state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said in a statement. “We can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines while big tobacco markets to our kids and gets another generation of young people hooked on a product that will ultimately kill them.”
Ninety percent of smokers have picked up the habit by the age of 18, according to the American Lung Association in California. In the state, smoking is responsible for more than 40,000 deaths and more than 21,000 kids start smoking each year, said Kimberly Amazeen, vice president of the association in California.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths per year.
“That is why we need to take bold steps forward in our efforts to reduce tobacco use among youth,” Amazeen said.
Reuters reported that certain cities and counties, including New York City and Hawaii County, have already pushed the minimum smoking age limit to 21.
But Hernandez’s bill is expected to face strong opposition from the tobacco industry, the Los Angeles Times reported. Similar proposals made in Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey and Utah have failed, according to the senator’s office.
If this legislation – Senate Bill 151 – passes, California would become the first state in the nation to raise the smoking age.
Luther Cobb, MD, president of the California Medical Association, told the Times that his organization believes increasing the age at which individuals can purchase tobacco will be helpful in reducing tobacco use in young people, which will also bring down the number of preventable deaths.
Other organizations, like smokers’ rights group The Smoker’s Club, criticize the bill.
“It’s funny that the politicians in Sacramento have nothing better to do with their time than continually attack smokers as a minority,” said Robert Best, western regional representative of the club. He said many individuals begin smoking before they’re 18 and that a new law would not change this trend.
Altria, a tobacco firm, is against state efforts to change the minimum smoking age, the Times reported.
“We believe states and localities should defer this regulatory process and give the FDA, the [Institute of Medicine] and others the time to review the science and evidence, before enacting different minimum age laws,” said Altria spokesman David Sutton. “That being said, we review each legislative proposal on its own merits and we will do so on this new piece of legislation.”
Hernandez’s proposal follows similar legislation introduced Jan. 26 by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who is looking to ban the use of e-cigarettes in public places.
(With reports from Los Angeles Times, Reuters and The Sacramento Bee)
