SACRAMENTO - California lawmakers voted Thursday to make the nation's
most populous state the second to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21 as part
of a sweeping package of measures they are considering to crack down on
tobacco.
Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown still must sign off on the legislation the Senate
approved to make California the first state after Hawaii with the higher age
limit. His spokesman said last week that the governor generally does not
comment on pending legislation.
The bills also would restrict electronic cigarettes the same as tobacco
products. The increasingly popular devices are not regulated by the federal
government.
The higher age limit got approved despite amid intense lobbying from tobacco
interests and fierce opposition from many Republicans, who say the state should
butt out of people's personal decisions, even if they are harmful to health.
The six bills, which the Assembly has already backed, represent California's
most substantial anti-tobacco effort in nearly two decades, the American Cancer
Society said.
"With California having such a huge population, it's going to be very
impactful nationwide," said Cathy Callaway, associate director of state
and local campaigns for the American Cancer Society.
The Senate vote comes just over a week after San Francisco officials opted to
raise the tobacco buying age to 21, making it the largest city to do so after
New York. Nationwide, more than 120 municipalities have raised the smoking age,
according to Tobacco 21, a group that advocates the policy shift nationally.
Hawaii was first to adopt the higher age limit statewide. New Jersey's
Legislature voted to raise the smoking age from 19 to 21, but the bill died
when Republican Gov. Chris Christie decided not to act on it before a January
deadline.
Advocates note that the vast majority of smokers start before they are 18,
according to data from the U.S. surgeon general. Making it illegal for
18-year-old high school students to buy tobacco for their underage friends will
make it more difficult for teens to get the products, they say.
Critics say adults are trusted to make weighty decisions to vote or join the
military once they turn 18. In response, Democrats changed the bill to allow
members of the military to continue buying cigarettes at 18.
"You can commit a felony when you're 18 years old and for the rest of your
life, be in prison," Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes said. "And
yet you can't buy a pack of cigarettes."
Another bill would classify e-cigarettes, or "vaping" devices, as
tobacco products subject to the same restrictions on who can purchase them and
where they can be used.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed regulating e-cigarettes but the
rule has not taken effect.
Anti-tobacco advocates fear that vaporizers are enticing to young people and
may encourage them to eventually take up smoking. Others say they are a
less-harmful, tar-free alternative to cigarettes. They have not been
extensively studied, and there is no scientific consensus on their harms or
benefits.
The package of bills would expand smoke-free areas to include bars, workplace
breakrooms, small businesses, warehouses, and hotel lobbies and meeting rooms.
Smoking bans would apply at more schools, including charter schools, and
counties would be able to raise their own cigarette taxes beyond the state's
levy of $0.87 per pack.
Anti-smoking groups are collecting signatures for a November ballot initiative
that would raise the cigarette tax to $2 a pack and direct the money to health
care, tobacco-use prevention, research and law enforcement.
