The United States Food and Drug Administration raised the official minimum age to buy tobacco products like cigarettes, vapes, and chewing tobacco from 18 to 21. President Donald Trump signed the new age limit into effect on Friday, Dec. 20 as part of a larger government funding bill. Even if a user was 18 years old before the law was passed, they can no longer buy tobacco products if they are under 21 years of age.

American History teacher Trace Petersen said,“I know that they changed the age to buy tobacco products, but I believe that if you can be drafted and can fight for our country, then you should be able to smoke a cig or crack a cold one.” He wants the draft age, the age to buy alcohol, and the age to buy tobacco products all to be set at 21. He thinks the new law is a good change because Juuls have had a negative impact on high schools. Vaping in schools is a very big dilemma. There are 3 million reported students in the United States that use vapes in school bathrooms. That is a 75 percent increase in the past year. 

Nicotine is a very addictive chemical, and when kids start to use products that contain it, chances are they will be using the product for years to come. The company Juul stopped making fruit-flavored Juul pods because kids seemed to like those better than the rest. When that didn’t help, they took away the mint-flavored pod.

The American Lung Association advocated the change from 18 years of age to 21 because it will help save lives. They changed it because smokers aged 18 and 19 years old often buy tobacco products for younger kids. The American Lung Association said tobacco use will decrease by 12 percent, and deaths from smoking-related issues will decrease by at least ten percent. This new law could end up saving 223,000 deaths, and 50,000 of those will be cancer-related.