State tobacco laws were partially changed in 1992 during the Bill Clinton administration when Congress signed the Synar Amendment into law, requiring states to enact their own laws to have a minimum age of eighteen to purchase tobacco or lose funds through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. [4] The amendment was adopted in response to adolescent smoking rates. [5] All states raised their age to eighteen or nineteen in 1993. In 1997, the Food and Drug Administration issued regulations imposing the minimum age at the federal level of eighteen,[6] although the U.S. Supreme Court later terminated the FDA`s jurisdiction over tobacco, ending its enforcement practices and leaving that to the states. [7] In January 1996, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA) issued the Synar Regulation to provide guidance to states. The regulations require states and territories to conduct inspections of tobacco retailers to assess whether tobacco products are being sold to minors. You are also required to collect data about these sales. States and territories must comply with the Synar Amendment to receive full federal funding for block drug grants. On December 20, 2019, the President signed a law amending the Federal Law on Food, Medicines and Cosmetics and raising the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21. This law (known as “Tobacco 21” or “T21”) came into effect immediately, and it is now illegal for a retailer to sell tobacco products – including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes – to anyone under the age of 21. The new federal minimum age applies to all retail establishments and to persons without exception. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States.1 Among U.S.

adults, approximately 34 million adults smoked cigarettes (in the past 30 days) in 2019.2 Nearly 9 in 10 adults who smoke cigarettes daily start smoking at age 18; after the age of 25, almost no adults start smoking or switch to daily smoking.1 Federal T21 does not prevent state, local, tribal or territorial governments from passing more restrictive legislation than federal law, including increasing MLSA for tobacco products over the age of 21. While there is no mandate for states and territories to establish an MLSA at age 21 to comply with federal law, it may be easier and more effective for states that have increased their MLSA to 21 to ensure compliance with Synar requirements. For example, in jurisdictions where MLSA is harmonized at the federal and federal levels, there is more clarity for retailers and enforcement officers. Data collected as part of the enforcement of national youth access laws can also be used for Synar compliance. The minimum age to buy tobacco in the U.S. prior to 2019 varied by state and territory. As of December 2019, the smoking age is 21 in all states and territories after the federal law passed in Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump in December 2019. * With respect to tobacco purchases, Mississippi state law prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing tobacco products or nicotine alternatives (including e-cigarettes). However, for tobacco sales, Mississippi only prohibits the sale of alternative nicotine products (including e-cigarettes) to anyone under the age of 21. Because the Mississippi MLSA for cigarettes and other tobacco products remains at age 18, Mississippi is not counted among the states that have increased their MLSA within the STATE system to 21. The momentum accelerated as cities and states across the country began raising their legal age for selling tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

Nineteen states and D.C. have passed 21 tobacco laws. Since the federal law was passed, 14 other states have passed laws raising their state`s selling age to 21 in November 2020. In July 1992, Congress passed the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Administration Reorganization Act, which included an amendment to reduce adolescents` access to tobacco products. This amendment, named after its sponsor, Congressman Mike Synar of Oklahoma, required states and territories to pass and enforce laws prohibiting the sale or distribution of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 in order to receive federal subsidies for drug abuse.5 In the United States, laws on the minimum age for purchasing and consuming tobacco products have been enacted by the states. The territories, the District of Columbia and the federal government. Prior to 1992, states had exclusive authority to impose their own minimum age. These laws first appeared in the late 19th century, when New Jersey became the first state to set a minimum purchasing age of sixteen in 1883.

[1] In 1920, about half of the states had their minimum purchasing age of twenty-one, and some simply prohibited “minors” (ages 14 to 24) from buying. [1] In the 1920s, due to lobbying by the tobacco industry, the minimum age was lowered in the United States. and ranged from sixteen to nineteen. [1] Until 1939, all states had age restrictions for tobacco. However, these laws changed in the 1950s, with Maryland removing its age restrictions. The American Cancer Society recommended a minimum age of eighteen in 1963, the American Medical Association recommended twenty-one[2] years in 1985,[2] and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended nineteen or twenty-one. [3] CDC`s Tobacco Monitoring and Evaluation System (STATE) contains a wealth of information about MLSA in each state and territory, as well as in D.C. This information is updated quarterly and includes provisions such as minimum age of sale, law enforcement agency, and penalties for violations in each jurisdiction. According to the STATE system, prior to the passage of Federal Act T21 on December 20, 2019, 19 states, 2 territories (Guam and Palau), and DC had already passed laws increasing their MLSA for tobacco products to age 21. Since the passage of federal law T21, 20 additional states and 1 territory (Northern Mariana Islands) have increased their MLSA for tobacco products to age 21.

As of June 30, 2022, 43 jurisdictions (39 states, 3 territories, and DC) have issued a 21-year MLSA for the purchase of tobacco products, but 10 retailers in jurisdictions that have not increased their MLSA to 21 must continue to comply with federal T21. A recent study found that people who start smoking regularly between the ages of 18 and 20 are more likely to become addicted to nicotine and less likely to quit smoking than people who start smoking at age 21 or older.3 These findings are consistent with a 2015 report from the National Academy of Medicine, , which provides that raising the legal age of sale (MLSA) for tobacco products from 18 to 21 or 25 years is likely to significantly reduce the prevalence of smoking and smoking-related deaths.4 This fact sheet describes federal and state laws that set minimum age requirements for tobacco sales.