OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:52 AM PT — Saturday, December 21, 2019
President Trump has approved a new federal law, which will raise the
legal smoking age from 18 to 21. The legislation was signed by the
president in the government spending bill on Friday. It will prohibit
the sale of combustible cigarettes, e-cigarettes and any other tobacco
products to those under 21 nationwide.The measure comes amid rising concerns about the effects of vape products and the prevalence of youth nicotine addiction.
According to the CDC’s latest report, 94 percent of patients studied with vaping-related health problems had vitamin E acetate in their lungs. The majority of those patients reported using THC vapes.
The administration hoped raising the smoking age would limit young people’s access to nicotine filled products and reduce nicotine addiction in youth.
“We have to take care of our kids, so we’re going to have an age limit of 21 or so,” said the president.
President Trump’s crack down-on flavored vape products aimed to maintain the flavored vaping industry for adults while still safeguarding children. Last month, industry leaders and anti-tobacco activists gathered at the White House to discuss solutions.
“We have a lot of people to look at, including jobs, because you know it’s become a pretty big industry,” he said. “When you mention vaping, you‘re talking about e-cigarettes, a lot of different things.”
19 states across the U.S. – including California, Texas and New York – have already raised the smoking age to 21. For all other states, the new law is expected to go into effect in approximately nine months. The FDA will be given 180 days to update regulations and 90 days for the law to go into effect.
