A Tobacco Control Policy & Legal Resource Center
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Tobacco 21 — An Idea Whose Time Has Come

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The New England Journal of Medicine has published an article “Tobacco 21 — An Idea Whose Time Has Come” by Jonathan P. Winickoff, M.D., M.P.H., Mark Gottlieb, J.D., and Michelle M. Mello, J.D., Ph.D. regarding the increase in communities across the country adopting 21 as the age of sale for tobacco products.

As the federal law allows for communities and states to adopt ages of sale higher than 18, many have taken action. In 2013, seven Massachusetts towns and one Hawaiian county adopted Tobacco 21 laws. Similar legislation has been introduced in a growing number of communities and at least three states: New Jersey, New York, and Utah.