Survey Reveals Americans in Favor of Proposed Ban of Cigarette Sales to Youth

Disclaimer: Results are not guaranteed*** and may vary from person to person***.

Ban of CigaretteA new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that three out of four American adults favor a proposed ban on cigarette sales to youth under the age of 21.

According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 80% of all adult smokers experience their first cigarette smoke before the age of 18. Although more than half don’t become smokers by the time they turn 18, four out of five people become regular smokers by the time they turn 21.

Brian King, of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, suggests that raising the minimum age to buy tobacco could reduce youth smoking rates and increase the likelihood for those who become regular smokers to quit.

A March 2015 report released by the Institute of Medicine suggests that if all states rose the minimum age of sale for tobacco to 21, there would be nearly 250,000 fewer (preventable) smoking deaths among people born between 2000 and 2019.

Hawaii is the only state that currently restricts the sale of tobacco to adults 21 and older—although Utah and Colorado may soon follow suit.

New York City has already banned tobacco sales to youth under the age of 21.

Source for Today’s Article:
Mitchell, B., “Three out of four Americans favor raising smoking age to 21, study says,” USA Today web site, July 9, 2015; http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/08/3-of-4-americans-favor-raising-tobacco-age-cdc/29857039/.