A new study done by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) shows that raising the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 21 could greatly reduce the number of smokers in the U.S. and save hundreds of thousands of lives.
Researchers studied the effects of increasing the national minimum age limit for three different ages: 19, 21 and 25. They found that although the ages of 19 and 25 had little effect, if the minimum age was elevated to 21, there would be a 12 percent decrease in smoking in the U.S.
This has to do with the time when smokers pick up their first cigarettes. Smokers under 15 usually get their cigarettes from friends and relatives, who may not comply with their requests. However, around the age of 16 (the legal driving age), these potential smokers become mobile and often take part-time jobs, offering them the opportunity of more options for obtaining cigarettes, though not legally. At 18, however, getting cigarettes is easy.
Statistics show that 90 percent of heavy smokers started before the age of 19. This is why the study found that raising the age limit to 19 doesn't make as much of a difference as raising it to 21.
"While the development of some cognitive abilities is achieved by age 16, the parts of the brain most responsible for decision making, impulse control, and peer susceptibility and conformity continue to develop until about age 25," says Richard J. Bonnie, Harrison Foundation Professor of Medicine and Law. "A balance needs to be struck between the personal interests of young adults in being allowed to make their own choices and society's legitimate concerns about protecting the public health and discouraging young people from making decisions they may later regret, due to their vulnerability to nicotine addiction and immaturity of judgment."
There has been a push before for raising the national age limit, but a 2009 act prohibits the FDA from establishing a nationwide minimum age for purchasing cigarettes. This is why the FDA asked the IOM to do this study, perhaps assisting in giving them the power they need to finally request a national age limit. As it stands, states and municipalities set these limits, which range from 18 to 21.
The IOM report also states that if the national limit became 21, for those individuals born between 2000 and 2019, there would be nearly 250,000 fewer premature deaths and as many as 45,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer.
"By assessing the public health implications of raising the minimum age for accessing tobacco products, this report aims to provide the scientific guidance that states and localities need when evaluating new policies to achieve the ultimate goal — the reduction and eventual elimination of tobacco use by children and youth," says Victor Dzau, president of the Institute of Medicine.
Photo: Guilherme Yagui | Flickr
