Cities across Ohio are raising the minimum age for tobacco product sales to 21 — a movement that advocates say could lead to a decline in smoking.
Cleveland, Columbus and Akron have all raised the minimum age for tobacco sales to 21. They are among more than 330 cities and counties across 21 states that have enacted such measures, according to Tobacco 21, an initiative by the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation.
The topic has also been brought up in Athens. Athens City Council members heard a presentation on the initiative in June, but the initiative isn’t becoming an ordinance yet, Council President Chris Knisely said.
Tobacco 21 advocates and health experts alike say the legislation could improve public health.
Katherine Ungar, the executive director of Tobacco 21, said raising the minimum sale age could help keep tobacco products out of the hands of minors. Eighteen-year-olds are more likely to be involved in high school social circles than 21-year-olds, Ungar said, and can provide their peers with access to tobacco.
“It is extremely important that we are not addicting our kids,” Ungar said.
All tobacco products, including vapes and e-cigarettes, are included in the age raise. Ungar said those products still contain highly addictive nicotine and sometimes can lead to a transition to other tobacco products.
Research backs the claim that raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco would cut down on tobacco use across the nation.
According to a 2015 Institute of Medicine study, raising the minimum legal sale age for tobacco products to 21 nationwide could lead to a decline in smoking rates. According to the study, raising the age could reduce the rates of initial tobacco usage among teens aged 15 to 17 by up to 25 percent.
Overall prevalence of tobacco use could be reduced by up to 12 percent, according to the study. The study also projects that if the sale age was raised immediately, 223,000 premature deaths could be prevented.
Ungar said the measure is directed toward retailers rather than those who purchase tobacco.
“Penalizing youth for purchase, use, and/or possession (also known as a “PUP” provision) has not been proven to be an effective measure for reducing youth tobacco use,” Ungar said in an email. “In fact, some experts suggest that PUP laws detract from effective enforcement and tobacco control efforts. Moreover, enforcement officials focused on penalizing youth will dedicate less attention and resources to retailer enforcement. Overall, the penalty should be a civil one, focused on the Retailer to incentivize retailer compliance.”
The initiative has been hotly debated in some areas of the country. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner recently vetoed statewide Tobacco 21 legislation, according to The State Journal-Register.
Rauner said the legislation would do little to keep tobacco away from youths.
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce also opposed the legislation, citing its decriminalization of underage tobacco use and projected revenue hits, according to a release.
Clarification: This article has been updated to clarify the term sale age.
