If one council member has his way, the City of Berkeley will soon join Healdsburg, New York City and the State of Hawaii in banning tobacco sales to anyone under the age of 21. Berkeley Council Member Jesse Arreguin proposed his plan Tuesday, citing smoking-related personal and public safety risks that he says are equivalent to those of alcohol.
“Berkeley has been a leader in fighting smoking and increasing the age for buying cigarettes would be another step,” Arreguin said. The city, for instance, recently banned e-cigarette use in places where traditional smoking is already prohibited.
According to the American Lung Association, nearly 70% of smokers pick up the habit well before the legal age. In fact, most adult smokers will try their first cigarette at age 11 and be hooked by age 14. But raising the legal age to 21 could still have an impact on these young smokers, Arreguin said, because most of the adults who give cigarettes to minors are between the ages of 18 and 20.
The city council will consider Arreguin’s proposal at its September 15 meeting.
Read more about the proposal here.
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