Following the lead of a growing number of states — including Washington — Congress is considering raising the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21.
While the issue deserves robust debate, increasing the age nationwide would be a reasonable step toward improving the health of Americans. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, has wisely signed on as one of the early sponsors of H.R. 2411.
“Jaime supports this measure to curb the rise of cigarette smoking and vaping among youth,” Angie Riesterer, Herrera Beutler’s communications director, wrote in an email to The Columbian. “Many 18-year-olds are still in high school, with a high probability of passing on tobacco products to younger students and siblings.”
With that, Herrera Beutler has recognized one of the oft-ignored aspects of leaving the age for tobacco at 18. If cigarettes can be bought by 18-year-olds, those cigarettes frequently will wind up in the hands — and lungs — of even younger teenagers. Most teens know somebody who is 18 and can help feed their addiction to nicotine.
That addiction has grown in recent years, in part due to the advent of vaping. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this year that nearly 5 million middle- and high-school students used tobacco in 2018 — a 39 percent increase from the previous year. The CDC also reported that there were 1.5 million more youth users of e-cigarettes, accounting for the entire increase in tobacco users.
Nicotine is the addictive substance in tobacco, and research — along with common sense — tells us that the earlier somebody gets hooked the more likely they are to be lifelong users. Stemming that early addiction, during a time when the brain is still developing, will help reduce health problems and health costs down the road.
The state Legislature recognized that during this year’s session, passing a law to increase the age for tobacco purchases beginning in 2020. State Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, introduced the bill in Olympia, saying, “If we can keep kids, young adults, from smoking before the age of 21, 95 percent will never smoke.”
That assertion undoubtedly will trigger tobacco lobby opposition to the congressional bill. According to OpenSecrets.org, tobacco interests spent more than $23 million on lobbying efforts in 2018.
But among the states, many already have recognized the benefits of increasing the age for tobacco purchases. Oregon and California have joined Washington and 11 other states in adopting an age limit of 21.
The move makes economic sense; the CDC estimates that smoking directly results in about $170 billion annually in health care costs.
The primary argument against raising the age for tobacco purchases is that 18-year-olds can legally vote, get married and join the military, and that they are considered adults by the legal system. Those assertions are true, but they miss the mark.
The legal age for obtaining a driver’s license is 16, but the age for alcohol or marijuana purchases is 21. Our nation has a long list of privileges with varying age requirements, depending on the activity and the potential dangers and social costs. Each activity must be considered individually rather than as part of some magical demarcation for adulthood.
The benefits of a national standard that increases the age for tobacco purchases would vastly outweigh the drawbacks. Herrera Beutler is on the right side of the issue.
