Smokers under 30 will have to show ID to buy tobacco, according to the FDA
The agency announced that the age is being increased by three years from the previous regulation in order to make it more difficult for young people to get tobacco and to protect them from the risks and diseases associated with it.
Tobacco
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that, from now on, smokers under the age of 30 will have to show photo identification when they go to buy tobacco. Previously, those under 27 years of age were required to do so.
In a statement, the FDA announced that this measure will go into effect Sept. 30 and will aim to further limit young people from getting tobacco and reduce consumption among people in that age range.
"Today’s rule is another key step toward protecting our nation’s youth from the health risks of tobacco products," explained Brian King, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. "Decades of science have shown that keeping tobacco products away from youth is critical to reducing the number of people who ultimately become addicted to these products and suffer from tobacco-related disease and death."
The measure does not end there. In addition, small establishments that sell tobacco through vending machines will be banned from doing so, since, according to the FDA, they make it easier for youth and minors to buy them.
According to a report from the American Lung Association, tobacco, a cause of cardiorespiratory diseases, kills more than 480,000 people each year. It adds that more than 41,000 'passive smokers,’ people do not smoke but have second-hand contact with tobacco, die each year.
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