COLUMBUS, OH, UNITED STATES, February 17, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A study examining the effect of Tobacco 21 laws (“T21”), which raise the minimum legal sales age of tobacco and nicotine to 21, found that such laws dramatically reduce 12th grade cigarette use by 35 percent and modestly reduce cigarette use for 8th and 10th graders. Tobacco 21 laws were also found to increase ID-checking and perceived risks of both tobacco and e-cigarette products. Finally, analyses of the 2012-2019 Nielsen Retail Scanner Data suggest that in counties with the highest quartile of the share of individuals under 21, T21 reduced cigarette sales by 12.3% and e-cigarette sales by 49.1%. Tobacco 21 laws appear to be even more effective in reducing cigarette use than increased taxes.

The study, entitled Estimating the Effects of Tobacco 21 on Youth Tobacco Use and Sales, was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and pre-published by SSRN; it used the latest Monitoring the Future survey data and Nielsen Retail Scanner data from 2012 to 2019.

Commenting on its conclusions, study co-author Michael Pesko (Georgia State University) said, “The combustible tobacco portion of T21 has been a major public health achievement, successfully helping to reduce the most lethal forms of tobacco among teens and young adults.” Co-author Rahi Abouk (William Paterson University) noted that, “T21 substantially reduces cigarette use among 12th graders and e-cigarette use among 8th and 10th graders in the United States. Unlike the earlier minimum legal sales age of 18, which was not well-enforced in the early 1990s, our results suggest high retailer compliance with T21, justifying these sizable impacts.”

Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation/Tobacco 21 founder and president, Rob Crane, MD said, “The data in this study confirm what we’ve known for decades: raising the tobacco and nicotine sales age to 21 can bring about significant reductions in youth initiation and use, and quite possibly prevent kids from ever starting down a path of lifelong nicotine addiction. The tragic vaping epidemic gave new urgency to passing strong Tobacco 21 laws with effective retailer enforcement through tobacco retail licensing, and we continue to advocate for these laws across the U.S. We are enormously gratified to see such strong supporting evidence for this common-sense policy.”

The complete study can be found at here.

Background:
Recognizing the ongoing public health crisis of teen e-cigarette use and the protective effect of raising the sales age, Congress passed-- and President Trump signed -- a federal Tobacco 21 bill in December of 2019. To date, 39 states and two territories have enacted a Tobacco 21 law. Even though Tobacco 21 is now the ‘law of the land,’ states are charged with enforcement of the minimum legal sales age. Evaluations of each state Tobacco 21 law can be found at https://tobacco21.org/state-grades/.

Established in 1996, the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation and its advocacy arm, Tobacco 21, work nationwide to advance strong tobacco control legislation that prevents youth initiation and addiction to tobacco and nicotine.

Amanda Turner
Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation
+1 614-766-2211
amanda.turner@tobacco21.org
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