Lake forest health and fitness: Washington state attorney general seeks to raise smoking age to 21

Thursday 22 January 2015

Washington state attorney general seeks to raise smoking age to 21

By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - Washington state could become the only U.S. state to raise its legal age for smoking tobacco to 21 from 18 under a measure proposed on Wednesday by its top law enforcement official. The legislation, if enacted, would also put the legal age for purchasing and possessing tobacco and nicotine-vapor products on an equal footing with the state's minimum drinking age of 21, with the goal of restricting access to teens and lowering healthcare expenses. The measure, however, would cost the state some $20 million a year in estimated tax revenue. ...