Increasing the Age Allowed to Purchase Tobacco Products
Sources:
Economic Trends in Tobacco | CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/economics/econ_facts/index.htm
Schneider, S. K., Buka, S. L., Dash, K., Winickoff, J. P., & O’Donnell, L. (2016). Community reductions in youth smoking after raising the minimum tobacco sales age to 21. Tobacco Control: An International Journal, 25(3), 355–359. https://ezproxy.wou.edu:4285/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2014-052207
Shephard R. J. (1978). Cigarette smoking and reactions to air pollutants. Canadian Medical Association journal, 118(4), 379–392.
Steinberg, M. B., & Delnevo, C. D. (2013). Increasing the “smoking age”: the right thing to do. Annals of internal medicine, 159(8), 558–559. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-159-8-201310150-00695
Healthier population overall
Less pollution also contributes to a healthier population; people experience less airway irritation caused by pollutant deposits in the airways.
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the US (NCBI)
Controlling tobacco consumption disrupts the cycle of young smokers that turn into lifelong smokers
Deters youth from smoking
Helps prevent addiction in younger populations; more susceptable to this at a younger age (NCBI)
90% of smokers had their first cigarette before 18
Ages 18-20 are the largest population to buy cigarettes for younger kids. Increasing the purchase age has been shown to decrease youth acess and use.
Lowers spending on health care for people and employers
Smoking related illness costs over $300 Billion each year to treat.
Non-smokers experience less health issues, and less need for medical intervention
$170 billion was used for adult care, while $156 billion was lost productivity costs (workers taking time off of work to treat smoking related illness)
Decreases need for employee time off due to illness, disability
Decrease in air pollution
Cigarette smoke is one of the largest pollutants in the air
Less people smoking would create less pollution. The environment as well as the people benefit
