FDA Finalizes Minimum Age Requirements for Tobacco Sales
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized a rule which raises the minimum age for certain restrictions on tobacco product sales, in line with legislation signed in December 2019 that immediately raised the federal minimum age of sale in the United States from 18 to 21 years of age.
Beginning Sept. 30, retailers must verify with photo identification the age of anyone under the age of 30 who is trying to purchase tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Previously, this requirement applied to anyone under the age of 27.
Additionally, retailers may not sell tobacco products via vending machine in facilities where individuals under 21 are present or permitted to enter at any time. Previously, this prohibition applied to facilities where individuals under 18 were present or permitted to enter at any time. These and other changes made by the final rule aim to maximize the public health impact of the original legislation.
Once implemented, the requirements are expected to help decrease underage tobacco sales.
"Today's rule is another key step toward protecting our nation's youth from the health risks of tobacco products," said 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 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act not only increased the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, but also directed the FDA to establish rules for increasing the age of certain requirements for any tobacco product sales.
The final rule on tobacco product actions is part of the agency's ongoing effort to protect young people from accessing tobacco products. According to the FDA, more than 95% of U.S. adults who smoke daily smoked their first cigarette by the age of 21.
To date, the agency has conducted more than 1.5 million checks of tobacco retailers to ensure compliance with federal age restrictions. It has both cracked down on retailers who sell directly to underage smokers and targeted the illegal distribution of products considered especially popular among youth.