FDA Mandates New Requirements for Younger Smokers

Regulators say all smokers under 30 will need to show identification to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in White Oak, Md., on June 5, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
By Zachary Stieber, Senior Reporter
Updated:
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Aug. 29 issued a new rule that mandates checking identification for all people aged under 30 who are trying to buy tobacco products like cigarettes.

Regulators said that retailers must verify “by means of photographic identification” that people purchasing cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and other products with tobacco are 21 or older.

The verification was previously in place but was applied to people 26 years of age or younger.

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The change is part of recent moves by the FDA and legislators to try to stop young people from using tobacco.

“Today’s rule is another key step toward protecting our nation’s youth from the health risks of tobacco products,” Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in a statement.

“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.”

Congress in 2019 approved, and President Donald Trump signed, a law that raised the minimum age to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products across the country from 18 to 21. E-cigarettes are also not legally available to people under 22.

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A 2009 law introduced the identification requirement for people aged up to 26.

The updated requirement is set to take effect on Sept. 30.

The FDA on Thursday also said starting on that date, retailers cannot sell tobacco products via vending machines at any time at any place where people under the age of 21 are present or able to enter.

Using tobacco can lead to health problems like lung cancer. According to the American Lung Association, smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths, killing over 480,000 people per year.

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Secondhand smoke also kills tens of thousands a year, the organization says.

Regulators have found previously that the bulk of people who try cigarettes are under 21, and have focused their efforts on restricting that population’s access to cigarettes and other products with tobacco.

Raising taxes on tobacco products is an effective way to discourage youth from using them, according to the World Health Organization, and some states in recent years have increased taxes.

Maryland, for instance, earlier this year enacted an increase from $3.75 to $5 a pack.

Yolanda C. Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said at the time that the tax increase “will prevent kids from smoking, encourage smokers to quit, save lives and save money by reducing tobacco-related healthcare costs.”

Zachary Stieber
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at zack.stieber@epochtimes.com
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