Attorney General Bob Ferguson continues his push to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco and vapor products to 21 when he speaks before the House Health Care & Wellness Committee on Tuesday.
Ferguson testifies on House Bill 1054 at the committee’s hearing beginning at 8 a.m. in Olympia. Ferguson’s proposal is in its third year with bipartisan support.
According a 2014 survey by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, about 95 percent of adult tobacco users start using before they turn 21. Ending legal tobacco purchases by the key 18-to-20 demographic, which includes older high-schoolers, will make it more difficult for all teens to get started on a path to lifelong addition. Studies show that 90 percent of those who purchase tobacco products for youth are themselves under 21.
A 2015 Institute of Medicine report found that, if the tobacco sale age were raised to 21 nationwide, the largest reduction in smoking would be among 15 to 17 year olds. It also concluded that raising the sale age of tobacco would result in 249,000 fewer premature deaths and 45,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer in children born between 2000 and 2019.
“Washington state has long been front and center in the fight to protect kids from the dangers of smoking,” Ferguson said. “It is past time to pass this proposal into law.”
Ferguson’s proposal would make Washington the third state to raise the legal tobacco sale age to 21, joining Hawaii and California. More than 200 local jurisdictions nationwide have also passed laws raising the sale age to 21, including New York City, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland.
Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver, has introduced the House version of the Attorney General-request bill. Sen. Mark Miloscia, R-Federal Way, has sponsored the legislation in the Senate, this year as Senate Bill 5025, for the last three years.
A total of 47 legislators from both parties have signed on to support the bills.
“Stopping smoking saves lives,” said Miloscia, chair of the Senate State Government Committee. “The research is clear that many smokers become addicted between the ages of 18 and 21. Simply increasing the smoking age to this milestone will have a significant and long-lasting effect on the number of addicted smokers, saving lives and driving down health care costs.”
“It’s so incredibly important to keep the influence of cigarettes out of our high schools,” Rep. Harris said. “The positive impacts to the health of our kids simply can’t be overstated.”
Ferguson’s legislation enjoys broad public support. A December 2015 Elway Research poll showed an overwhelming 65 percent of Washingtonians support raising the sale age of tobacco to 21.
The poll, commissioned by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, showed strong support for raising the sale age of tobacco among both men and women and in every region of the state. Support in Eastern Washington (66 percent) was similar to support in Western Washington (70 percent). The poll found strong bipartisan support, as well, with 66 percent of Republicans and 72 percent of Democrats supporting increasing the tobacco sale age.
