Now you must be at least 21 to buy tobacco in these 15 states. Here’s why

On Friday, Texas became the 15the state to raise the legal limit to buy tobacco, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21, CNN reported.

When Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 21 into law, Texas joined Arkansas, California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington in restricting the sale of tobacco products to people under the age of 21, according to the American Lung Association.

The increase comes in an attempt to close the window during which it’s easiest for a person to get addicted to nicotine, according to Truth Initiative.

Tobacco 21, a national campaign devoted to raising the legal age to buy tobacco nationally, reported that “more than 95 percent of adult smokers start before the age of 21” with very few smokers starting after the age of 25, according to the Office of the Surgeon General.

Nicotine use at an early age increases the risk of addiction, depression, anxiety and substance abuse, Tobacco 21 says.

Supporters of the age increase also hope it will stop the flow of replacement smokers by pushing back on “the tobacco industry’s efforts to target young people at a critical time,” according to the American Lung Association. For every one of the 1,200 daily smoking-related deaths in the United States, two young people will begin smoking, the Office of the Surgeon General reports.

Companies are taking a stand, as well. Starting in July, Walmart and Sam’s Club will raise the age for tobacco purchase in their U.S. stores to 21, CNN reported.

E-cigarette company JUUL has also shown its support, praising the age increase.

“Tobacco 21 laws fight one of the largest contributors to this problem – sharing by legal-age peers – and they have been shown to dramatically reduce youth usage rates,” CEO Kevin Burns said in a statement to The Verge.

But some Tobacco 21 supporters aren’t impressed with industry support, including John Schachter, director of state communications for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

“They are turning these Tobacco 21 bills into Trojan horses,” he said, according to Politico. “The industry is positioning Tobacco 21 as the only thing that needs to be done on tobacco prevention.”

This story was originally published June 9, 2019 at 12:08 PM.