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Health Issues. Tips and Tools. Our Mission. Find a Pediatrician. Text Size. Close Local your local region National. Search Submit search Quick Search. Comments Close comments menu. Video link. Close X. Click to scroll back to top of the page Back to top. By Laura Hensley Global News. Posted December 30, am. Smaller font Descrease article font size - A. Truth Initiative supports raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21 for all tobacco products — not just cigarettes.
As stated earlier, evidence suggests that nicotine can have long-term effects on the developing adolescent brain; the brain develops until age Further, while cigarette use among adolescents has decreased, all tobacco use has remained flat over the last five years.
While some tobacco products, like cigars and smokeless tobacco, have seen some decrease over the last five years, it has not been as steep a decrease as in cigarettes, particularly in the last two years. For some products, such as hookah and electronic nicotine delivery systems ENDS , we have seen use among high school students remain disturbingly high. Truth Initiative supports policies that put the burden of enforcement of this policy on retailers, rather than on youth.
Youth should not bear the burden of purchase, use or possession laws, which do not take into account the acts of irresponsible retailers and industry marketing. The responsibility for minimum age of sale laws lies squarely on the retailer.
The tobacco industry has disproportionately targeted communities of color. As a result, populations in some communities use tobacco at higher rates than others in the general population. Further, a huge body of research exists showing the impact of tobacco industry marketing on youth and young adult initiation.
What is more, studies show that purchase, use or possession laws are ineffective and poorly enforced. Further, these laws have been found to disproportionately impact African-American and Hispanic students. Unfortunately, most states have purchase, use or possession laws. Increasing the minimum age of sale of tobacco products to 21 could create an opportunity to change those laws.
Indeed, Chicago, Illinois, and Cleveland, Ohio, both included language in their laws to eliminate or ensure there were no penalties for purchase, use or possession.
Truth Initiative strongly supports increasing the minimum age to 21, however, we do not believe this is the only way to reduce youth tobacco initiation and use. There are many evidence-based measures to decrease tobacco use among youth and in the general population. A March report by the Institute of Medicine now called the National Academy of Medicine strongly concluded that raising the tobacco age to 21 will have a substantial positive impact on public health and save lives.
The study found that increasing the tobacco age will significantly reduce the number of adolescents and young adults who start smoking; reduce smoking-caused deaths; and immediately improve the health of adolescents, young adults and young mothers who would be deterred from smoking, as well as their children. In Dec. Some of the localities are in the states that subsequently enacted statewide laws. National data show that about 95 percent of adult smokers begin smoking before they turn
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