Tobacco 21

Tobacco 21 — An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Jonathan P. Winickoff, M.D., M.P.H., Mark Gottlieb, J.D., and Michelle M. Mello, J.D., Ph.D.

January 8, 2014DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1314626

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On November 19, 2013, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed into law the “Tobacco 21” bill, imposing the strictest age restriction on tobacco sales of any major U.S. city.1 Beginning in May 2014, it will be illegal to sell tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to persons younger than 21 years of age. The law stops short of making possession of tobacco products by persons under 21 a crime, placing the responsibility on retailers under penalty of civil fines.

Regulations issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set the national minimum tobacco-sales age at 18 but allow states and localities to enact laws setting a higher minimum age. In 2013, seven Massachusetts towns and one Hawaiian county adopted Tobacco 21 laws. Similar legislation has been introduced in a growing number of communities and at least three states: New Jersey, New York, and Utah. Further dissemination of Tobacco 21 laws represents a critical opportunity for public health law to reduce one of the most important health risks facing the U.S. population./.../