Tobacco Bill Serves Vital Public Health Interest

April 2, 2008

DeGette Raises Concerns over Tobacco Age, Gets StudyWritten in Bill to Better Inform Congress of Public Health Implicationsof Legal Age

WASHINGTON – Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO) highlighted the urgent need to pass the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act[H.R. 1108] that regulates tobacco during today's full Committee onEnergy and Commerce mark-up of the bill. DeGette inserted a provisioninto the legislation that calls for a study that will better informCongress about public health implications of the tobacco purchase age.

"This legislation serves a vital public healthinterest by regulating one of the deadliest products sold legally. Butone concern is that it ties the hands of the Secretary of Health andHuman Services from increasing the tobacco purchase age, even ifscientific evidence demonstrates the public health benefits of raisingthe age," said DeGette. "Given what we already know, and what we arestill learning about the vulnerability of young people to tobaccoaddiction, locking in the tobacco purchase age is unwise."

Emerging research suggests that younger individualsmay be more biologically vulnerable to tobacco addiction. Most smokersbegin smoking when they are young. Among current smokers, one in fourbecame a daily smoker at the age of 18, 19, or 20. Moreover, thirtypercent of 18-year-olds, who are legally permitted to buy tobacco underthe current federal minimum age, are still in high school."

The motive for locking in the legal tobacco age at18 can be further evidenced by what a Philip Morris tobacco strategistwrote in 1986:

…raising the legal minimum age for cigarettepurchaser to 21 could gut our key young adult market (17-20) where wesell about 25 billion cigarettes and enjoy a 70 percent market share.

"We must put public health above the interest ofthe bottom-line. Therefore, I am delighted to have worked with theCommittee on an additional provision included in the bill – requiring astudy to keep Congress better informed about the public healthimplications of the tobacco purchase age. This will be key toaddressing the implications of the legal tobacco age and developingsound public policy."

Changes in the alcohol purchase age provide aparallel. The federal government acted on evidence that states with aminimum age of 21 to purchase alcohol achieved significantly lowerrates of alcohol-related injuries than states with a lower drinkingage. Because of evidence-based federal action, all of the states hadraised their legal drinking age to 21. According to the NationalHighway Traffic Safety Administration, this policy prevents more than athousand deaths annually. Under this bill, states can still choose toraise the age to purchase tobacco. If this proves to reduce smoking inteenagers, Congress may want to revisit this issue in the future.