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. 2017 Nov 16:14:E112.
doi: 10.5888/pcd14.170255.

Should the Legal Age for Tobacco Be Raised? Results From a National Sample of Adolescents

Sarah D Kowitt  1   2 , Allison M Schmidt  3   2 , Allison E Myers  3   4 , Adam O Goldstein  2   5
Affiliations

Should the Legal Age for Tobacco Be Raised? Results From a National Sample of Adolescents

Sarah D Kowitt et al. Prev Chronic Dis. .

Abstract

Raising the minimum age of legal access to tobacco products may reduce smoking initiation and save lives. In a national telephone survey (2014-2015), US adolescents aged 13 to 17 years (N = 1,125; response rate, 66%) were asked about raising the age of legal access to tobacco products and randomized to hear one of 3 ages (19, 20, or 21 y). Most adolescents, across all US regions, favored raising the minimum age of legal access to 19 (75.7%), 20 (80.6%), or 21 (76.4%). These supportive attitudes may be useful to tobacco prevention and control practitioners who seek to reduce tobacco use among adolescents.

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