The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a final rule that increases the minimum age for certain restrictions on tobacco product sales. Once implemented, the FDA noted in a statement, the requirements are expected to help decrease underage tobacco sales.
Beginning Sept. 30, retailers must verify with photo identification the age of anyone under the age of 30 who is trying to purchase tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Previously, this requirement applied to anyone under the age of 27. Research has shown that it is difficult for retailers to accurately determine the age of a customer from appearance alone.
Additionally, starting Sept. 30, retailers may not sell tobacco products via vending machine in facilities where individuals under 21 are present or permitted to enter at any time. Previously, this prohibition applied to facilities where individuals under 18 were present or permitted to enter at any time. These, and the other changes made by the final rule, aim to build on the original December 2019 legislation, which increased the federal minimum age of sale for tobacco products from 18 to 21.
“Today’s rule is another key step toward protecting our nation’s youth from the health risks of tobacco products,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “Decades of science have shown that keeping tobacco products away from youth is critical to reducing the number of people who ultimately become addicted to these products and suffer from tobacco-related disease and death.”
The final rule from the FDA is part of its ongoing federal efforts to protect young people from accessing tobacco products.
“The FDA continues to robustly enforce the federal minimum age of sale for tobacco products, including after the minimum age of sale was increased to 21,” the agency’s statement continued.
To date, the FDA has conducted more than 1.5 million compliance checks of tobacco retailers to ensure compliance with federal age restrictions. These inspections have resulted in 134,000 warning letters, more than 33,000 civil money penalties and 230 no-tobacco-sale orders for violations related to federal age restrictions.
Retailers can find information on tobacco products that may be legally marketed in the U.S. through the Searchable Tobacco Products Database, linked here.
Updated resources, including further information on the latest requirements, will be made available on the FDA’s website in the near future.
