Tobacco Bill Serves Vital Public Health Interest

DeGette Raises Concerns over Tobacco Age, Gets Study Written in Bill to Better Inform Congress of Public Health Implications of Legal Age

 

 WASHINGTON – Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO) highlighted the urgent need to pass the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act [H.R. 1108] that regulates tobacco during today’s full Committee on Energy and Commerce mark-up of the bill. DeGette inserted a provision into the legislation that calls for a study that will better inform Congress about public health implications of the tobacco purchase age.

  

"This legislation serves a vital public health interest by regulating one of the deadliest products sold legally. But one concern is that it ties the hands of the Secretary of Health and Human Services from increasing the tobacco purchase age, even if scientific evidence demonstrates the public health benefits of raising the age," said DeGette. "Given what we already know, and what we are still learning about the vulnerability of young people to tobacco addiction, locking in the tobacco purchase age is unwise." 

  

Emerging research suggests that younger individuals may be more biologically vulnerable to tobacco addiction. Most smokers begin smoking when they are young. Among current smokers, one in four became a daily smoker at the age of 18, 19, or 20. Moreover, thirty percent of 18-year-olds, who are legally permitted to buy tobacco under the current federal minimum age, are still in high school."

  

The motive for locking in the legal tobacco age at 18 can be further evidenced by what a Philip Morris tobacco strategist wrote in 1986:

  

…raising the legal minimum age for cigarette purchaser to 21 could gut our key young adult market (17-20) where we sell about 25 billion cigarettes and enjoy a 70 percent market share.

 

 "We must put public health above the interest of the bottom-line. Therefore, I am delighted to have worked with the Committee on an additional provision included in the bill – requiring a study to keep Congress better informed about the public health implications of the tobacco purchase age. This will be key to addressing the implications of the legal tobacco age and developing sound public policy."

 
Changes in the alcohol purchase age provide a parallel. The federal government acted on evidence that states with a minimum age of 21 to purchase alcohol achieved significantly lower rates of alcohol-related injuries than states with a lower drinking age. Because of evidence-based federal action, all of the states had raised their legal drinking age to 21. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this policy prevents more than a thousand deaths annually. Under this bill, states can still choose to raise the age to purchase tobacco. If this proves to reduce smoking in teenagers, Congress may want to revisit this issue in the future.