The national smoking age has been officially reset.
As expected, President Donald Trump signed a $1.4 budget bill to fund government operations and avoid a shutdown. Included in that bill was a provision to push the legal smoking and vaping age from 18 to 21.
It will take about nine months for the change to go into effect, according to ABC News. The change impacts cigarettes, e-cigarettes and all other tobacco products.
9 am Friday: Congress sets stage for increasing legal age to 21 for smoking and vaping
It’s not official yet, but Congress has taken a big step towards raising the legal age for smoking and vaping.
On Thursday, Congress passed a bill to push the legal smoking and vaping age from 18 to 21 as part of a much larger overall spending package. This will cover cigarettes, e-cigarettes and all other tobacco products.
The move by Congress comes as debate began boiling earlier this year on the health impacts of vaping as well as the relationship between vaping and traditional smoking. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there have been over 2,500 confirmed cases of EVALI, or lung injury linked to vaping, as well as over 50 deaths in 27 states this year. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, meanwhile, says there have over 20 confirmed or probable cases of serious lung injury due to vaping, including two deaths.
The move also comes as more states began raising the legal age. So far, 16 states and the District of Columbia have taken that step. Kansas is not on that list, but the American Cancer Society and other groups are pushing for so-called “Tobacco 21” legislation to pass the Legislature as soon as possible.
The bill now goes to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it.
