Most Americans Favor Increasing Age to Purchase Tobacco, CDC Reports
Abstract
Previous research shows that the younger an individual begins smoking, the greater the risk of addiction.
According to a study published in July in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, nearly 75 percent of Americans—including current cigarette smokers—favor raising the legal minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21.
“Raising the minimum age of sale to 21 could benefit the health of Americans in several ways,” the study’s lead author Brian King, Ph.D., acting deputy director for Research Translation in the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a press statement. “It could delay the age of first experimenting with tobacco, reducing the likelihood of transitioning to regular use and increasing the likelihood that those who do become regular users can quit.”
In most states the minimum age of sale of tobacco is 18. However, in Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey, and Utah, the minimum age of sale is 19. On June 19, Hawaii became the first state to prohibit sales of tobacco to youth under age 21. Several cities, including New York City, Needham, Mass., and Columbia, Mo., have also adopted laws raising the minimum age to 21.
In March 2015 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) predicted that if all states raised the minimum age of sale for all tobacco products to 21, there would be a 12 percent decrease in cigarette smoking prevalence across the nation by 2100.
For the current study, researchers at the CDC surveyed over 4,200 adults, aged 18 and older; the survey was a part of the Summer Styles Internet survey. Participants were asked this question: “Do you favor or oppose raising the legal minimum age to purchase all tobacco products from 18 to 21?” Responses included “strongly favor,” “somewhat favor,” “somewhat oppose,” and “strongly oppose.”
The survey showed that 50.4 percent and 24.6 percent, respectively, strongly or somewhat favored raising the minimum age for sale of tobacco to 21 years. In contrast, 11 percent and 14 percent, respectively, strongly or somewhat opposed the change in laws. Of those in favor of raising the age, 77.5 percent were never smokers, 74.6 were former smokers, and 70 percent were current smokers. Approximately 73 percent of men favored the age increase compared with 76.7 percent of women.
A total of 81.4 percent of people aged 65 and older favored raising the minimum age of sale for tobacco compared with 64.8 percent of adults aged 18 to 24 who expressed a similar opinion.
“These findings demonstrate a considerable majority of U.S. adults favor raising the minimum tobacco age of sale to 21 years, irrespective of smoking status,” noted the researchers.
They speculated that the fact that older adults are less likely to be directly affected by these laws may explain the greater favorability observed in this group; conversely, lower favorability among current and former smokers could be attributable to resistance to restrictions on a behavior in which these two groups have engaged.
The researchers concluded that just as population-based interventions—including tobacco price increases and comprehensive smoke-free policies—have been shown to prevent and reduce tobacco use, additional governmental efforts to disrupt tobacco sales to youth may have a similar outcome. ■
