Home Politics America A proposal to raise the tobacco age limit to 21 in Massachusetts

A proposal to raise the tobacco age limit to 21 in Massachusetts

A bill that would raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 across the state of Massachusetts, has made it to the state capitol in Beacon Hill, Boston.

Diane Caruana

May 17, 2017

If the legislation is implemented, the age limit will apply to all “tobacco products”, including electronic cigarettes, and it would prohibit health care institutions from selling these products. Additionally, the bill also prohibits the use of vaping products at the workplace, a stance which highly opposes that adopted by the UK, where employers are urged to support vapers, in order to ensure that their efforts to quit smoking are not compromised.

It is a known fact that most teen smokers become addicted to cigarettes before they have even turned 18. Hence, limiting their accessibility to the products which could help them quit smoking, may not be such a great idea after all!

This is not the first time that the state of Massachusetts has tried implementing this regulation. Last year, a similar bill made it through the state Senate, with a 32-2 vote in favour of the age limit, however it did not make it through the House of Representatives.

“The message will be a lot clearer and a lot more effective for our teens if you have all of these substances having a minimum legal sales age of 21.” said Senator Jason M. Lewis, chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health, adding “We don’t want to see teens taking up vaping.”

The danger of placing cigarettes and vaping products on the same shelf

Despite the fact that all public health experts agree that anything possible should be done to reduce young adults’ accessibility to tobacco products, many point out that including vaping products in such a legislation could have a detrimental effect.

Several studies have shown that vaping products are significantly safer than their combustible counterparts, and effective smoking cessation tools. Additionally it is a known fact that most teen smokers become addicted to cigarettes before they have even turned 18. Hence though making it harder for them to be able to obtain cigarettes may be a positive step in the right direction, limiting their accessibility to the products which could help them quit smoking, may not be such a great idea after all!