California Raises Legal Smoking Age to 21

California Governor Jerry Brown signed multiple bills last week that raised the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 and placed restrictions on smoking areas and sales of e-cigarettes.

These new laws require consumers to be 21-years-old or older to be able to purchase cigarettes. However, a stipulation was added to allow military personnel 18 and over to be able to purchase the product. Hawaii was the first state to raise the legal smoking age this past January. Many large cities also have these laws, including New York and San Francisco.

As for e-cigarettes, they will now be regulated like other tobacco products in California. This also includes other vapor products like hookahs and pipe tobacco. The products will now have to come in child-resistant packaging in hopes of reducing the amount of poisonings in young children. The companies will also have to provide a list of ingredients in the vapors and have warnings on their packages and on their ads.

Raising the legal smoking age can help prevent premature deaths and lung cancer in young people.