MA Smoking Age Would Be 21 Under New Bill

By Alison Bauter (Patch Staff)

Massachusetts state legislators are targeting teens in a new bill meant to prevent early nicotine addiction, upping the minimum age for smoking to 21 statewide.

Unveiled by the Legislature's public health committee Thursday, the bill would impose additional new limitations on tobacco use beyond age limits. That includes:

• Prohibiting use of e-cigarettes and other forms of tobacco at schools, including vocational and technical institutes, and any workplace
• Requiring child-resistant packaging for e-cigarettes
• Prohibiting tobacco vending machines
• Banning the sale of tobacco and related products at pharmacies or healthcare institutions

As it stands, some Massachusetts cities already have a minimum smoking age higher than 18 in place. Boston, for example, upped the age limits for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21, effective last month. Other cities put that minimum age at 19.

According to a press release from the Joint Committee on Public Health, tobacco and nicotine use remains the leading cause of preventable illness and premature death in Massachusetts. The hope is to preempt later addiction by preventing early smoking habits from developing.

Currently, the bill is in the hands of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and still in the early stages.

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Photo: Curran Kelleher via Flickr