State
legislatures have been lobbied in a coordinated effort, called Tobacco 21 (here), to raise the minimum age for
tobacco sales from 18 to 21 years. Hawaii, California and the District of
Columbia have adopted the higher age limit, but numerous city and county ordinances
have been passed.
As
an advocate of tobacco harm reduction, I strongly oppose any tobacco use by
teenagers. However, I am unconvinced
that implementing a smoking ban for those under 21 is an effective strategy.
One
of the arguments for Tobacco 21 is that the same age limit has reduced teenage
drinking. The National Minimum Drinking
Age Act was passed in 1984. By 1988, all
states prohibited alcohol purchase by those under 21. The impact on underage drinking is
debatable. It has been on the decline
for many years, but rates remain disturbingly high (here).
The
chart above shows past-month (i.e., current) cigarette smoking, marijuana use,
alcohol consumption and binge drinking (5 or more drinks on one occasion) among
16-17, 18-20 and 21-25 year olds in the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and
Health. Despite almost 30 years of Alcohol
21 across the county, nearly a quarter of 16-17 year-olds and 44% of 18-20
year-olds were currently drinking, compared with 11% and 24% who were
smoking. In addition, a majority of
drinkers were binging. In 2014,
recreational marijuana wasn’t legal for anyone, yet 15% of 16-17 year-olds and
21% of 18-20 year-olds were using that drug.
We
can also compare these figures with those from 10 years earlier. Here are the changes in current use from
2004:
| Percentage Change From 2004 to 2014 in Prevalence of Youth and Young Adults Who Currently Smoke, Toke, Drink or Binge Drink | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (yrs) | Smoke | Toke(%) | Drink | Binge Drink |
| 16-17 | -51 | +6 | -28 | -41 |
| 18-20 | -36 | +17 | -14 | -23 |
| 21-25 | -25 | +25 | +4 | -1 |
With
Alcohol 21 in force for almost 30 years, drinking and binge drinking declined
moderately among 16-17 year olds. But
smoking saw the steepest declines in all age groups, even in the absence of a
ban for 18-20 year-olds.
Alcohol
21 and Tobacco 21 laws are promoted to save lives. In the case of smoking, the lives saved are
far in the future, as smoking generally takes a toll in advanced age. With alcohol, the lives saved are primarily
from traffic accidents. With or without
alcohol, traffic accidents are the number one killer of youth and young adults
(age 16-24 years), with about 7,000 deaths each year (here). Legislators seeking immediate life-saving
impact should consider further age-restricted driving licenses.
2 comments:
Since cigarettes are exponentially more extremely harmful, increasing the legal minimum age for cigarette sales to 21 is totally justified.
But there is no rational reason to increase the minimum age for sales of very low risk smokeless tobacco and vapor products, or for cigars or hookah (which are far lower risk than cigarettes) unless one's goal is to confuse the public to believe that all vapor and tobacco products are just as harmful as cigarettes.
It is a fact that brain and body maturity starts from age of 21. And laws are matching it quite properly...
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