In Dec. 2019 President Donald Trump raised age limit for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21. Most Americans have felt no change, while in reality many have struggled with it.
Organizations like the American Lung Association (ALA) advocate for the increase in age due to the possibility of saving lives. According to the ALA websitein March 2015 a report from the National Academy of Medicine detailed that this change could prevent 223,000 deaths among those who are under 21.
However, a raise in age does not make as big of an impact as they claim. People under 21 will still be able to get tobacco just like underage people get alcohol. Having bans and age restrictions are not a successful deterrent to stopping tobacco use.
According to the Center of Disease Control in the United States in 2018, the number of smokers who have quit have increased. This is not because of an age increase.
This is because there are countless programs out there that offer resources to help people quit tobacco use. These resources are plentiful as there are resources available in Moscow as well as at the University of Idaho. Having support and an individualized plan is what helps people stop smoking, not a law that suddenly raises the age.
It’s not a secret that tobacco is bad for you. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States with 480,000 deaths every year or accounting for one in five deaths every year.
There should be an effort to reduce the amount of people affected by tobacco, but tobacco is an addictive substance that many individuals are already using.
People who have smoked for years will not suddenly stop using tobacco because of this age increase. The only thing that will increase is the number of illegally obtained tobacco product among those who are under 21.
Asking millions of Americans to quit cold turkey is not the answer to our tobacco problem. Everyone is different and their plan to quit tobacco needs to be different. Increasing resources will continue to help lower the number of Americans who use tobacco products.