In the US, they want to raise the minimum age of tobacco purchase

Senator Mitch McConnell announced his intention to submit a bill raising the minimum age of smoking from 18 to 21.

Фото: Depositphotos

The bill will be submitted in May and will cover all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, writes NBC News.

McConnell (Republican of Kentucky) made an announcement about the project in his home state, one of the largest tobacco producers in the country. The politician noted that one of the highest rates of cancer incidence in the country is observed in Kentucky. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2012-16, lung cancer was 66% of all cancer deaths in the state.

According to the announced bill, retailers will be obliged to check the age of everyone who buys tobacco products.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 9 from 10 smokers have been trying to smoke cigarettes for the first time around the age of 18.

McConnell said that e-cigarettes pose “the most serious threat”, especially for high school students and teenagers, and raising the minimum age for smoking to 21 will reduce children's access to these devices. In 2018, more than 3 of millions of high school students in the US used e-cigarettes, which is 78% more than a year earlier.

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According to McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, the bill will include an exception for men and women serving in the United States.

“I hope my bill receives strong bipartisan support in the Senate. I am confident that many of my colleagues will agree that protecting our young people from starting tobacco use at an early age can have remarkable long-term health benefits in Kentucky and the nation,” McConnell said.

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Tobacco giant Altria, a cigarette maker of Marlboro and several other brands, said it "strongly supports raising the legal age for the purchase of all tobacco products."

“This is the most effective measure to reverse the rising rate of underage use of e-cigarettes,” the company said in a statement.

Twelve states—Delaware, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Utah—have already passed laws setting the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products at 21 years old.

Maryland and New York are on the verge of adopting similar rules.

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