Free Republic

The minimum age in Chicago for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products goes up to 21 at the end of the week. […] Hawaii and California have raised the tobacco purchase age to 21 statewide. Illinois lawmakers are considering a similar measure. The Chicago City Council approved the age increase in March, along with higher taxes and other efforts to combat tobacco sales. …

Boston health officials voted Thursday to raise the minimum age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products - including electronic cigarettes - from 18 to 21. Mayor Marty Walsh said the city now joins more than 85 other Massachusetts cities and towns - as well as New York City and Hawaii - in hiking the age for purchasing cigarettes. The Boston Board of Health also voted to increase the age for admission to adult-only retail tobacco stores and smoking bars to 21. ...

Hawaii’s governor has signed a bill to make his state the first to raise the legal smoking age to 21. The measure aims to prevent adolescents from smoking, buying or possessing both traditional and electronic cigarettes. Gov. David Ige signed it into law Friday. Dozens of local governments have similar bans, including Hawaii County and New York City. “Raising the minimum age as part of our comprehensive tobacco control efforts will help reduce tobacco use among our youth and increase the likelihood that our keiki will grow up tobacco-free,” said Ige, using the Hawaiian word for children. In Hawaii, 86...

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg planned to sign landmark legislation banning the sale of tobacco products to anyone under age 21, making the Big Apple the first large city or state in the country to prohibit sales to young adults. City health officials hope that raising the legal purchase age from 18 to 21 will lead to a big decline in smoking rates in a critical age group. A majority of smokers get addicted to cigarettes before age 21, and then have trouble quitting, even if they want to do so. …

Assembly Passes Bill to Raise Smoking Age Health: The measure would bar those under 21 from buying tobacco products. It now goes to the state Senate. By JON ORTIZ and MIGUEL BUSTILLO, TIMES STAFF WRITERS SACRAMENTO -- The Assembly passed a measure Wednesday that would raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco products in California to 21, siding with health advocates despite concerns that the measure could hurt state tax revenue. With the end of the legislative year looming, an Assembly committee passed sweeping legislation that would bolster the privacy protections enjoyed by California consumers, but only after watering...

Health groups critical of new smoking age By James P. Sweeney COPLEY NEWS SERVICE SACRAMENTO - When a West Hollywood legislator and a powerful doctor's lobby launched a drive earlier this month to raise the state's legal smoking age to 21, some prominent allies in the war on tobacco were conspicuously absent. The proposal, which could make California the first state to outlaw cigarette sales to 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds, immediately drew national attention, including a poll that showed broad support for the idea. Amid the applause, however, representatives of the state's heart, lung and cancer associations were sitting on...

<p>A state lawmaker unveiled a bill Monday that would raise California's legal smoking age from 18 to 21, the highest in the nation.</p> <p>The bill by Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, would make it illegal for anyone under 21 to purchase tobacco products, including cigarettes.</p>